The Blood Red Diamond
by StarMary
Summary: Tintin gets reunited with his childhood bestfriend, and he and his friends are invited to join an expedition to a mysterious island. The island is to be researched, but the first two expeditions that was sent there, unfortunately failed. They develop new feelings as they journey, and encounter unusual creatures.
1. Chapter 1: Strange Man

**Note: Hello there, readers! If you read the first chapter, you will see that there are errors in my writing, for example, the conversations. I'll try to edit them, so if you're reading this note now, it means that I haven't edited the chapters yet. My way of writing changes at Chapter 11, and I'll try editing all chapters in the writing format as Chapter 11. Happy reading!**

**Point of View: Tintin**

"Good morning."

I told Snowy, who was lying beside the bed on the floor, as I wake up. It's seven o' clock in the morning and I stretched my arms to start the day. "I think it's going to be a beautiful day."

I put down my legs, put on my fluffy bed slippers and placed my warm robe on my shoulders. I opened the door and sniffed the morning scent. Nestor passed by and greeted me. I greet back. I walked along the house and opened a few curtains here and there, when the doorbell rang.

I heard Nestor coming by to open the door, but I told him I'll handle it. I walked down the steps of the stairs and opened the door. Two identical men greeted me a good morning.

"My good old friends, Thompson and Thomson!" I say. "How are you two?" I ask. "Oh, we're very fine, Tintin," Thomson says. "There's less work to do."

"Well," I say. "What made you come here so early? It's just seven in the morning." They look at each other and look back at me. "There's a thief scampering about the neighborhood. We've been tracking the thief down for days but we haven't caught the culprit yet," Thompson says. "The thief has been victimizing people, going in their houses through windows during the night and steals numerous items of people. Be up and about, this thief might target Marlinspike Hall next," Thomson continues.

"Thanks for warning us, gentlemen," I say. "Would you like to come in for something to eat?"

"Ah! Certainly. Thank you very much," the two men say together.

Thompson and Thomson explain more about the thief as they nibble down biscuits. "Fortunately," Thompson says. "There's someone from the Interpol who is seriously tracking down the thief. We assume that that person already knows the location of the thief."

"So why is the thief still victimizing some people if your person already knows the location?" I ask. "Well, we only assume that," Thomson says. "Who is that person?" I ask them. "Sorry, Tintin, we cannot tell you," Thompson says defensively. "It's a secret."

After one hour of the thief explanations, the Thom(p)sons left the Marlinspike Hall. "Thank you for the nice snack, Tintin," they bid me goodbye.

I got inside and the captain was already awake. "Good morning, captain," I tell him. "Good morning, Tintin," the captain says back. "Say, have you seen the professor?" he asks. "No, captain, I haven't seen him. What about Nestor? Have you asked him?" I suggest. "Not yet," he answers. "I'll go ask him." He walked away. "Wait," I say. "Where is Snowy?" I walk around the house calling him, but there's no answer. "I'll try looking for him outside," I tell myself.

I went at the back of the Marlinspike Hall to look for him. He wasn't there. I look in the meadow, and he was there. "Snowy! Here Snowy!" I call him. Snowy looks at me and wags his tail, but he turns away from me and runs into the stream. "Snowy! Come here at once!" I call him once more, but he seems to be hard of hearing me. I run after him.

Snowy passes by the stream and so did I. My shoes and socks and a bit of my pants are wet now, so my voice becomes a bit aggressive when I call Snowy. "Snowy!" I shout. He disappears in a pile of big trees. "Oh, that hard-headed dog," I say to myself. I run after him once more. I hear his distant barks from the big trees, so I run faster.

Snowy's barks are getting louder. I finally saw him running around and barking at a bush. Then, I catch a glimpse of a braid, before it disappears in the rustling bush. Snowy barks at it more. "Snowy, is someone there?" I pat his head as I look towards the bush. I stand up, and examine the bush. Surprisingly, no one's there, but there's someone that have _been _there. "Someone's in here," I say. I held out my hand and planted my fist on it. "Great snakes! That must have been the thief!" I exclaim.

Snowy barks some more and wags his tail. I gesture at him to come home. Minutes later, we are already at the Marlinspike Hall. "Where have you been, Tintin? I've been looking all over for you," Captain Haddock asks me. "I just went to look for Snowy. Here, I found him," I told the captain, pointing at Snowy, who's beside me. "So, did you find Professor as well?"

"Yes, he's tending his garden. And about that," the captain says, pointing his finger up. "Me and the professor was talking when we heard something on the roof. Then I saw someone in the roof, but I didn't see the person clearly. I yelled at him to go away, and he did. I pointed at his direction and told the professor that someone was on roof, but it seems he does not pay any attention."

I was shocked at was he said. "Crumbs! Captain, that must have been the thief!" I tell him. "What thief?" the captain asks, completely confused. "I forgot to tell you. Thompson and Thomson went here just this morning and told me that there's a thief wandering around the neighborhood. The Interpol has assigned someone to track the culprit, but unfortunately, the thief is not been caught yet. They warned us that the thief might target the Marlinspike Hall next!" I explain to the captain.

"Blistering barnacles! So that must have been the thief! I'll tell Nestor to keep watch. Where is he? Nestor? Nestor!" the captain calls. "Coming, sir," I hear Nestor say as he walks towards the captain. "I'm just wondering how he got there so fast," I tell the captain. "On the roof? Why?" the captain asks. "Well, just these last minutes, I chased Snowy. Then, I noticed that he was chasing somebody. I expect it was the thief. But I didn't found the thief there by the meadow where Snowy chased the thief. But when I got here, you already saw the thief on the roof," I tell the captain. "That's quite odd," the captain says. "Excuse me for a moment, Captain, I need to do something," I tell the captain. "Alright, Tintin," he replied.

_That night…_

I wake up from the sound of distant footsteps. I was puzzled for a moment, and then I look at the pitch black darkness and suddenly realize what's happening.

"The thief!" I shout.

I stand up immediately and run into the room's windows. I push it open, and there! Only one window away from me, is the thief up to his tricks! He's carrying a big sack, and he starts going down already!

"Captain! Professor! Nestor! The thief! He's here! Quick!" I run outside calling them. Their doors slam open and Captain Haddock yelled curses as he started running towards me. "Thundering typhoons! Where is he, Tintin?" he asks me furiously. "He's holding on the third window! Quick, before he escapes!" I tell him. We pushed the door together on the third room and make a run for the window.

"Great Snakes! He's already down there! How did he get down so fast?" I exclaim. "Quick, make a run for the entrance door! We can catch the thief if we run fast enough!"

Captain Haddock run downstairs as I follow him. Nestor quickly telephones the police as we open the entrance door. "There!" I point towards the running thief as he makes a run for the gate. With the gates closed, I felt some hope of catching him. Captain Haddock was now ahead of me, when something catches my attention.

A dark figure started going down the Marlinspike Hall. It passes by the windows so quick, like the house is playing catch with each other. At first, I thought it was just my hallucination. But as the figure lands on the ground, it runs so fast towards the thief, and I realize it's also a human, not just a hallucination. The running human was now ahead of me and Captain Haddock.

"Blistering Barnacles! There are two of them!" Captain Haddock screams. The thief started to climb on the gate when the running man reaches him and plucks him out of the gate.

"Drop the bag! Put your hands up!" I heard the running man say, now on his knees, on the top of the thief, and pointing a gun at him. Me and Captain Haddock stops running and looks at the scene. Cars arrive as the thief was caught by the strange man. "The police are here. Nestor had a great job calling them to arrive," Captain Haddock says as he walks toward me. "Who is that?" I ask. "Get back to bed, Tintin. Me and Nestor will handle this. Tell the Professor what happened," the captain says to me. "Alright, captain. Thank you," I reply. I looked back, wondering who the strange man is.


	2. Chapter 2: A Memory And An Invitation

**Point of View: Tintin**

_Next morning…_

"Good morning," I greet the captain who was reading the newspaper. "Good morning, Tintin," the captain greets back. "So," I clap my hands together. "What happened to the thief?" Captain Haddock folds his newspaper into two and shows me the headline: THIEF _FINALLY CAUGHT ON MARLINSPIKE HALL_. "He was arrested, if it weren't for the young lady who chased him down. If the thief wasn't caught, we would probably lose some of the house furniture. That's what the police found in his sack," the captain tells him, and continues to read his newspaper. "Good," I say. Then, something passes my mind. "Wait," I added. "Young lady?"

"Yes, Tintin. The young lady who caught the thief. Why?" the captain asks. "I thought she was a man!" I tell the captain. The captain laughs softly. "Why did you think of that?" he asks, smiling. "She got great skills, for a young lady. Did she mention her name?" I ask the Captain. "She didn't. Right after she handed the thief to the police and after some short chat with an officer, she left. She didn't even wait for us to give our thanks. But she looked calm and nice. The police seem to know her, as they get along so quickly and talk to each other normally," Captain Haddock answers. "And she's about your age, too."

I was dumbfounded at the idea. But I didn't let it bother me. "Anyway, Captain. Me and Snowy are going to have a little walk in the park," I tell him. "Go on, Tintin. Enjoy and be careful," Captain Haddock says.

"Come on, Snowy," I tell Snowy as we walk out of the room's door.

The park is surprisingly empty today, so me and Snowy have no trouble of walking around. The breeze passes by my face, and the scent of the trees are so nice to smell. "What a nice day, Snowy," I say. Snowy runs around back and forth happily. I decided to sit on a bench while reading a good book. I let Snowy run around, but when he came back he got a bone on his mouth. The odd thing about the bone is that there's a red ribbon wrapped around it.

"Where did you get that?" I ask him. Snowy drops the bone, wags his tail, and barks happily towards the little bridge. "Someone's there?" I ask. I stand up, lay my book on the bench, and take a look at the little bridge. There was a woman standing, facing the opposite way. I couldn't see her face. I look down at Snowy. "Well," I started to say. "We'll go near and say thank you." I pick up my book and tuck it in my arms. But the book slipped and it fell with a loud thud. I sigh as I pick up the book again and as I face the direction of the bridge, the woman was gone.

"Where is she?" I wonder. Snowy barks again. He runs into the bridge and I follow him. He sniffed around the bridge and lets out a whimper. "Whoa, she's fast," I say. Suddenly, a thought crosses my mind. "Wait," I say. "What if that girl is the one who caught the thief? Last night, she chased the thief like a wind, going so fast. Now, this girl is fast, too! Just one look back and she's already gone! We should have said thank you. But, I do have another feeling.."

I looked at the bridge again, visualizing the girl standing there, looking at the opposite direction. Her hair was pulled down in a braid. "Her braid seems familiar," I say. I close my eyes for a moment, thinking of things that may remind me of the girl's braid. I finally got the idea and open my eyes. "Aha! She's the person you chased on the meadow, Snowy?" I say, looking at Snowy. Snowy perks up his ears, wags his tail, and barks excitedly at the idea. "I caught a glimpse of her braid when she hid in the bushes. She is so fast that I didn't see her run away. I've mistaken her for the thief. Let's go home, Snowy. So you didn't chase a thief after all," I say.

We walk on the street, and then, I see Thompson and Thomson on the same street. "Oh, look, Snowy. Friends," I tell him. I walk towards the Thom(p)sons and greet them. "Hello, Thompson and Thomson. How nice to see you."

"Oh, Tintin!" they say together. "The thief was finally caught and arrested. But a pity, your person didn't catch the thief. I thought your person knows the thief's location? Good thing a young lady followed the thief and caught him, thanks to her," I say. "Our person didn't catch the thief? Good gracious, Tintin. You're mistaken! Our person caught the culprit, no doubt about that," Thompson says. "So your person's a young lady, as young as me?" I ask them. Thompson and Thomson were shocked. "How did you know, Tintin?" Thompson asks. "It was top secret! Did you send out a spy or something?"

"No. Certainly not," I reply. "The thief was caught at Marlinspike Hall. Captain Haddock seen her when he talked to the police. But he didn't know her name," I explain to them. "Well," Thomson starts. "You shouldn't—"

"Thompson and Thomson!" somebody shouts. The three of us was taken aback by the voice. Then, I see someone running towards the three of us. It was the young lady I saw in the bridge earlier!

She stops in front of the two detectives, holding a piece of paper, and started talking. "I got a message from the—"

"Sssh! What are you doing here?" Thompson asks, gently pushing her aside. "You're not supposed to show yourself in public." The girl was surprised. "You mean, not fully expose myself?" she asks innocently.

The girl has long, black braided hair, and she wears a dress that goes down the bottom of her knees, some combat boots, which was a bit weird; purple round-edged square eyeglasses, black pearl earrings and a gold necklace. She really looks familiar to me. I looked at her in the face, and those sea-green eyes are fascinating. She's a bit chubby, but not too fat. You can't see her fatness by looking at her figure. Then, I look closer at the gold necklace she wears. The string was simple gold, and there are two pendants hanging on it. One was a tiny, gold circle encrusted with one crystal; with two curled end tails on one side that is encrusted with one crystal gem each. The other pendant was a tiny, gold hourglass filled with pink sand. It looks really familiar. And then, I remembered something. A mere memory…

_I was still a little child then. In the park where I used to play. The park with the little bridge. I was playing, running around. Bigger and taller kids came up to me and telling me to go away. I wouldn't want to. At that time, I have no friends and I wanted to play alone. I refused to go away, and so they hurt me. Beat me up with little sticks. I was already lying on the ground when someone came and stood in front of me, with her back facing me. "Stop it!" she said with her little voice. I looked up, opened my eyes, enduring the pain I got from having a right black eye and bruises on my cheeks. "Stop it! That isn't right! You're hurting him! Or I'll…" her voice faded._

"_Or you'll what little girl?" the bully asks proudly. I see the little girl's fist shaking. She is also afraid. But she stomped her right foot and fought her fear. "You don't want to get hurt, do you? Stop hurting this boy, or I'll give back his pain you gave!" I felt braveness and fear in her voice. The bully smirked and raised his stick. But before the stick reaches the little girl's head, her right leg raises and she gives the bully's tummy a kick._

_The bully fell down, and gave a whimpering sound. He groaned so much. His other friends ran away and left him lying on the ground. When the bully felt less pain, he's so scared he ran away from the little girl. The little girl was also surprised of what she did. It was obvious that she didn't know she had such strength until that day. She turned around and picked me up. I remember the two of us running into their house, with one arm of mine slumped on her shoulders and her other arm wrapped around my waist, supporting my weight. She shouted at her mother, who was reading a book. Her mom dropped the book when she saw me. "Mommy, this little boy needs help!" she shouted. The mother helped her child carry me and laid me on a bed and treated my bruises and wounds. But I don't remember anything after that, because I lost my consciousness._

_When I woke up, I was already home. My mother and father introduced me to the little girl who stood up for me and saved me. And this girl became my best friend. We do almost all things together. We're so close to each other. But when were twelve, her adoptive parents are going back to their hometown with her, which means that we'll be separated. I remember the day when they left, I gave her a beautiful gold necklace as a sign of our friendship. We hugged our last hug, and then, she disappeared. From then on, I didn't hear anything about her. She's completely forgotten. The girl who stood up for me._

But not anymore.

I move closer to her, staring at her.

"It seems that I know you," I say to the young lady. The Thom(p)sons looked at me skeptically. "I suppose your name is.. Diana?" I ask, holding her shoulder. The young lady widened her eyes. "Wait, how did you—wait. I think I know you, too," she says, cupping her hand over her mouth. "Tintin?"

"Yes! It's me!" I say delightfully. "Oh my! Tintin! I never seen you for so long!" she exclaims. I give her a hug and I feel her hugging back. It's another hug from her again—after six years.

"I thought I'd never see you again! How are you?" I ask her happily. "Well, I'm fine! We went back here at Brussels when I was sixteen! I'm already working—"

"Uhm, excuse me," Thomson says, clearing his throat. "Sorry to interrupt you but, you're not supposed to tell people that." Diana smiles at the two detectives. "Don't worry. I trust Tintin. He can keep my secrets," she says. "Besides, he's going to be involved here." Diana then shows the detectives the paper in her hand. "What's all this about?" Thompson says as he and Thomson begins reading the paper.

"Great Scotland Yard! So, it's an invitation for Tintin, Captain Haddock, and Professor Calculus to board the ship _Cassus_? Then, we must tell the captain and the professor at once! Tintin, lead us to the Marlinspike Hall," Thompson and Thomson says. "What ship, you say?" I ask them.

"Cassus. You're being invited there to go to.. uhm.. " Thompson's voice fades as his eyes went back to the paper. He must have forgotten the name of the area.

"I think you should just go with Tintin back to Marlinspike Hall. You can discuss that with the captain and the professor," Diana says. "Come on, Tintin," the two detectives gestures at me. "Won't you be coming, Diana?" I ask her.

"Well, uhm," Diana scratches her head. "I don't know if I'll be welcomed in there. I'm just a stranger," she says. "Of course, you'll be welcomed! You caught the thief, and if you didn't do that, Marlinspike Hall would be ransacked and some valuables will be lost," I tell her. "Come on."

_At Marlinspike Hall…_

"Hello, Captain," I greet Captain Haddock. "Oh, Tintin! You're back," he says, popping his head out of his newspaper. "And I see you brought some visitors."

"Captain, it's Thompson and Thomson," I tell the captain. "And—"

"Blistering barnacles, you're the young lady who caught the thief!" the captain exclaims as he points Diana. Captain Haddock stands up, folds his newspaper and places it in the table beside him. He walks towards Diana and gives her a handshake. "Thank you, thank you. We owe you a lot. Say, what's your name?" he asks.

Diana looks at Thompson and Thomson, and they both give her a nod. Diana smiles and tells the captain, "My name is Diana, Captain—"

"Haddock. Archibald Haddock," the captain says. He lets go of Diana's hand. "It's very nice to meet you. So, what's this all about?"

"Captain, we've been invited by someone to board the ship Cassus. And Thompson, Thomson, and Diana will tell you all about it," I tell the captain. "Go on," Captain Haddock says.

"We just received a message from Interpol that detectives Thompson and Thomson, assisted by me, that we are assigned to guide, guard, and protect you in any way possible in the Cassus expedition. You are invited by Professor Mike Wilson to join him and board his ship, Cassus, together with Professor Cuthbert Calculus, who could help with his research in the mysterious appearance of the island, _Borione_. You are requested to join him in his expedition with five other professors and ship crew on the 30th of April," Diana explains.

"Hmm, well, I think we should go," Captain Haddock says. "Wait a minute, Diana," I say, confused. "What is Borione, by the way?" Diana takes a deep breath. "Borione is a mysterious island that appeared just this February on the Western part of Greenland. There's already two expeditions sent there—which was unsuccessful. Locals near the island say that Borione is a very dangerous and mysterious place. But despite the dangers what the locals say, professors and researchers still sends expeditions to the island to carry some samples. It's rumored to hold lots of new animal and plant species, and new elements. And also, locals near there said that beneath the mountain that lies in the island is a city. They don't know what's in the city, but some say it's what people go crazy for."

"And.. what is it?" Captain Haddock asks, clearly interested in the topic now.

"Treasures. Numerous treasures such rubies, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, and other precious stones. That's why a lot of people make trips there, and those people don't come back anymore," Diana explains.

"I don't think we should go," Captain Haddock says. "It's dangerous there."

"But it will be important for the researchers. And, it could be a story," I tell the captain. "We should go." Captain Haddock frowns. "Too dangerous, lad," he says.

Again. Like the past adventures. I'm going to use my old trick that can make him accept the invitation.

"I guess so, Captain," I say. "We are not brave enough to go there."

Suddenly, Captain Haddock stands up. "Me? Afraid? Blistering barnacles in a thundering typhoon! Never! Haddocks are brave! We're going!" he says furiously. "I'm going to prepare to go there! I'm not afraid!" Captain Haddock continues as he leaves the room and slams the door.

"Well, that worked," I say, smiling. "So, that means we're going, right?" Thompson says.

Snowy barks excitedly and wags his tail. "Come on, Snowy. We're going to Borione!"


	3. Chapter 3: Cassus

**Point of View: Diana**

"What's the date today?" Thompson asks.

"It's 27th of April. It means we still have two more days to prepare for the expedition. Plus half a day if we start preparing now," I reply.

"May I ask, Diana," Thomson says. "How did you know Tintin?"

"Well, Tintin's my childhood best friend. And I don't want to talk about that," I answer. It reminds me of something bad that happened to me in my past. I don't really want to talk about my past.

"Diana, we'll have to go now," Thompson and Thomson says. "Just wait for Tintin here. Where'd he go anyway?" I scratch my forehead. "You shouldn't go. You know, he just went to prepare some food for us. Who will eat those?" I ask them. "We know you could eat all of them," Thomson says, laughing. "If Tintin ever looks for us, just tell him we already left. We need to do something important."

"I will. Be careful!" I tell them. The two of them open the door and left. I sit at the chair silently, until I hear a loud crash of something that must've dropped. I quickly ran and open the door and look to the right, but nothing was there. I look to right and see Captain cursing and jumping as someone cleans up the broken vase on the floor.

"Is everything alright?" I ask them calmly, walking towards their direction. Captain Haddock stops cursing, and looks at me innocently. "Oh, it's just you. Sorry for the mess, Diana. I just bumped into this table and the vase broke and fell," he says. "Go back to the room, Diana. Here, I'm come with you." He walks towards me and steers me back into the room. He lets me sit down on the chair and he sits down too. "So," he starts saying. "You're a friend of Tintin?"

"Yes, Captain," I reply. "It's been years since I last saw him. I was twelve back then." Captain Haddock picks up the bottle of whisky lying on the side table. "You're strikingly pretty," he says. "Oh, thank you, captain," I say awkwardly. I'm a bit shy receiving compliments from someone I just met. "Captain, how's Tintin doing?" I ask him. The captain picks up the drinking glass from the table and pours some whisky on it. "Ah, he's fine," he answers. "He does not do much. Mostly reading in the house or wandering outside." I nod.

Captain Haddocks drinks from the glass, places it on the table and lets out a refreshed breath. "So," he says. "You caught the thief. Why did you do that? Why don't you just let the police do it?" I straighten my back. "I'm just doing my job, captain. I work for the Interpol," I tell him. "Ooh, so you're part of the Interpol!" he says. "Actually, captain, I'm the one who's been assigned to keep track on the thief. I've been following him for weeks, but he's surprisingly fast. Good thing the Marlinspike Hall has gates. The thief is not a good climber, so it was a bit easy bringing him down the gates," I tell the captain as I laugh softly. "It seems that you're a nice lady. Are you sure you're just Tintin's friend?"

I blush at the question. "Uhm, yes, captain," I reply. And right after that moment, Tintin walks in with a tray with biscuits, bread, and some other food and drinks. He sets the tray on the table and looks around the room, puzzled. "Where's Thompson and Thomson?" he asks. "Oh, they left. Said they need to do something important," I answer. "Here, Diana, eat something," Tintin says as he picks up a piece of bread and gives it to me. Then, someone pushes the door open.

"Hello, Professor Calculus," Tintin greets the old man holding a book. "Fuse?" Professor Calculus asks. "No, this isn't a fuse. This is a book." The professor walks in and looks at me. "Oh! A visitor! May I ask who you are?" he asks. "My name is Diana, sir," I reply. "What did she say?" he asks Captain Haddock. "Oh, dear old Cuthbert, use your hearing device?" Captain Haddock grumbles as he pulls out a small trumpet from his pocket. He holds out his hand to the professor, and the professor happily picks up the trumpet and puts the end in his ear. "Sorry, young lady, what was your name again?" he asks me again. "My name is Diana, professor," I say again. "She's the one who caught the thief!" Captain Haddock says to the professor. "Ooh! Thank you, thank you very much!" Professor Calculus says, shaking my hand. "You're welcome, Professor," I say. Tintin eats a biscuit and sits down. "And about that," he says. "Why did you catch the thief?" I straighten my back once more. "I work for the Interpol. I was the person assigned to track him down," I tell him. "So you're the one being chased by Snowy down the meadow?" he asks. "Yes," I reply.

"Would you tell us all about the expedition?" Tintin asks. And I went on explaining things to them. "So we should be at the dock by 08:00 am on April 30. Thanks for the info, Diana," Tintin says. I look at my watch. "I should be going now. Thank you for the food, Tintin. Captain Haddock and Professor, I will be going now," I tell them. I open the door and walk out of the house.

_At Diana's Apartment…_

I fold all my clothes and pack them into my bag. I look for more things that I could bring to the expedition. I look at my bedside table, and there, sitting was a top part of diamond stone. The bottom part was outlined with a golden ring. I don't know what the ring's use on the diamond is, but, I don't let it bother me. When I was thirteen, my mother and father gave me that as a good luck charm. I walk up to the bedside table and pick up the diamond. "I will need all the good luck this charm will give," I mutter. I put the diamond back down the table. "I'll just put it on my travel clothes' pocket on the very day of the expedition."

_April 30, 7:55 am_

I walk on the plank going up the ship. The ship is very big. As I walk, a hand fell down on my shoulder unexpectedly that made me jump.

He laughed. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. How's it going with you, Diana?" Tintin asks. "I'm doing fine, but you scared me a little. I almost fell on the water, freak!" I tell him, and I was laughing too. He laughs again. "I remember you calling me freak when we're still kids," he says. "Yes, me too. Where are Captain Haddock and Professor Calculus?" I ask. "There," he points at the end of the plank, and I see the two men walking up. "You better hurry, Diana. Walk up, walk up. We only got five minutes left before the ship sails," Tintin says. I walk up the plank again and reach the ground of the ship. The ship is very big, here and there. We were on the right side of the ship, the starboard, which is about 6 meters wide. There are also lots of staterooms, which are about three floors. The men are all up and about, doing their own businesses. Tying ropes, checking engines, and running about.

Two men stand at the end of the plank. The first man is obviously a captain, which wears a green suit. His French cropped hair is salt and pepper that gives a hint of his old age. He has a long nose and stormy gray eyes. The other one wears a black suit with pockets all over the coat. His conservative styled hair was already white, as well as his moustache and pointy beard. The two men shake our hands as we step on the ship.

"Welcome to the ship _Cassus_, Mr. Tintin and Ms. Diana. I hope you'll feel comfortable here," the captain says as he lets go of my hand. "My name is Captain Ahmet Smith. And this is Professor Mike Wilson."

"Professor Wilson, thank you for gladly inviting us to the expedition. We're sure to enjoy the expedition," Tintin says. "Where are the other professors?"

"They are in their cabins. Oh, and please ask Professor Calculus that he should be on the special room, the Research room by 8:00 pm," Professor Mike says. "Sure, sir," Tintin says. "Who are our other companions?" he asks. "Oh, you'll meet them soon," the professor says. "Excuse us, me and the Captain, it's almost 8:00, and we need to prepare for the sailing. Nice to meet you and I hope you'll be comfortable in the ship." The two men walk away, just as soon as Captain Haddock and Professor Calculus get on the ship. "Blistering barnacles, what a nice ship!" Captain Haddock exclaims. Then, a young man dressed in a sailor suit comes closer to us. He has close cropped hair, and a coffee bean brown skin. He has blue eyes, which totally stands out because he has dark skin. He looks handsome, though. "Good morning, Mr. Tintin, Ms. Diana, Captain Haddock and Professor Calculus. Welcome to ship _Cassus_. My name is Kurt. Please allow me to assist you while you're here," he says. "Oh, thank you, Kurt. Can you tell us where our rooms are?" Tintin asks. "Very well, sir. Your rooms are on second floor, first cabin to the left and so on," Kurt answers. "One room for each of you. Here are your keys, sir." He handed each of us a key with the room number. "Would you like me to accompany you to your rooms?" he asks.

"I'll stay here, first. I want some cold breeze. You can accompany the three of them to their rooms," I tell Kurt. "Oh, no. I'll stay here with you, Diana. We haven't seen each other for years. There's a lot to talk about. You can escort Captain and the Professor instead," Tintin says. "Very well, sir," Kurt says. "Do you want me to carry your luggage into your rooms, sir?"

"No, thank you. Me and Diana can carry this on our own. And Kurt, there's no need to call me 'sir'. Just call me by my name," Tintin says. "Sure… Tintin," he says, but I can tell he seems to hesitate saying it. "Don't worry, Kurt, you can call me by my name, too," I tell him. He smiles and walks with Captain Haddock and Professor Calculus. "What a nice man," I say.

Tintin laughs. "You fancy him?" he asks. "That's not what I meant," I reply, laughing too. "So, how's your mother and father?" he asks, placing his hands on his waist. "They're doing fine, Tintin," I say to him. "But they're not here. They're in their hometown. They allowed me to live here in my apartment because of my job. I want to come with them, to make sure they're okay all the time, but they say they will do fine."

"Good," he says, placing his arms on the handles on the side of the ship. "I see that you still have that gold necklace I gave you before you left." I look down at my necklace. "Oh, yes. It reminds me of you. I didn't take it off," I tell him. "You really impressed me," he says. "You really run so fast. How did you do that?" he asks. "Just a lot of practice," I reply. "You had a lot of adventures, Tintin. I saw them at the newspapers. My grandmother's been sending them to us when we left here. She keeps me updated," I tell him. "And here's another one. " Then, something wet licks my leg and I see Snowy by my feet. "Oh, hello, Snowy," I greet him. He barks happily as he wags his tail. Then, his face changed direction and he growls. "What is it, Snowy?" I ask, as I pat his head. I look at the direction he's looking at, and I see a lady running towards our direction. "Tintin! You're here!" she shouts from afar.

"Who's that?" I ask. Tintin looks back and frowns. "Not her, again," he mumbles. "Who is she? Do you know her?" I ask him. "Yes. Her name is Gina Maxfield. She's been following me for weeks, and she's bugging me. I had to take her out to dinner so she wouldn't annoy me, but that made her follow me more. Now, how did she get here?" he says, annoyed. "Take her out to dinner?" I say. I crack a mischievous smile at him. "So, you've been dating her?"

"No! It's not—I didn't say—It isn't—That's not what I meant," he fumbles as he blushes more. But I can say he dated her. "Tintin! You're here!" Tina says. She stumbles upon him and hugs his right arm. "I'm invited here. How about you?" Tintin asks annoyingly as he tries to pull away from Gina. "I wanted to see you! I paid my way here. When I learned you accepted their invitation to board here, I followed you. They told me that I couldn't board the ship unless I was part of the crew or invited, but I insisted. They refused again, so I paid my way in here. Isn't that great?" she says as she squeezes more of Tintin's arm and buries her face into his shoulder. I hear Tintin groan and squeak a little from the squeezing.

The scene made me awkward to be there. "Uhm," I say softly. Snowy growls more and I pat his head. "Snowy, let's get to our rooms. This is making me awkward," I whisper at him, so soft Tintin can't hear me. I stand up and sneak my way out with Snowy, but Tintin sees me and he immediately pulls away from Gina and grabs my shoulder.

"Ow! Hey, that hurt," I tell him. "Please don't leave me with her," he whispers at me. I look back, and I see Gina walking towards us with a frowning face. "Excuse me, but who are you?" she asks me annoyingly. "Uhm, ah…" I mumble. "She's my friend. My best friend. We've been best friends since we're young," Tintin says, a little angry. "Her name is Diana," Tintin introduces me. "I see," Gina says suspiciously. "You're not that pretty, you know," she points at me. That made me a bit angry inside. Here I am, doing nothing to her, and she kind of insulted me but I just met her just these last sixty seconds. "That's nice, " I lie. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have to prepare for the ball this evening," she says, walking away. I was puzzled. "A ball?" I ask. She turns around, looks back at us.

"Yes, a ball. They will celebrate for the start of the expedition. They will hold it in the special ball room," Gina says. "But, it's only 8:00. It will happen this evening. Aren't you too early for that?" I say. "Uhm, that's none of your business," she says, and walks away. I sigh. "What a woman," I say. "Where are Thompson and Thomson by the way? I didn't see them come up the ship," Tintin asks.

"Oh, they went here ahead of me. I'm guessing they're in their cabins now. Nobody told us about going to have a ball," I say. "Maybe we can ask someone from the ship," Tintin suggests. "Can you do that, Tintin? I'm going to my cabin first. I'll just put my things there," I ask him. "Sure, Diana. Be careful," Tintin says, and we separate ways.


	4. Chapter 4: Feelings

**Point of View:Diana**

I go up the steps into my cabin. The room is good enough for one person. There's a large desk mirror, complete with a chair and some beauty (ugh) products on top of the desk. A small bed was on the left side of the room. A door was located at the right side of the small room. I open the door and they managed to fit the bathroom in there. The tub was present, complete with curtains and shower. There's also a sink and a mirror. Of course, a toilet.

"What am I supposed to wear? I didn't bring any decent clothes for a ball," I say to myself. I walk to the bed and dump my bag on it. I sit, worrying about the ball. "Maybe a sleep won't make me worry all about it," I tell myself. I walk in the bathroom, turn on the shower and wait until it fills up the tub. I soak two pillows on the other end of the tub, and I soak myself into the water; my head on the pillows. I close the shower curtains, completely hiding me from any view. I scoop up some water and splash it on my face before closing my eyes and sleep.

I wake with a start. I hear someone knocked on my door. They should have come inside my room already. I straighten my back slowly, and sit up carefully without making a sound. I hear the drops of water from my soaked hair making splashes, which was annoyingly loud, since it didn't help in making the bathroom quiet. I stand up, and my soaked clothes make more splashes. I jump off the tub; the floor was wet because of the drops of water on my clothes and body. The door was slightly open, which means somebody came inside the bathroom.

I open the door quietly and carefully. And I see there, beside my bed, is a standing Tintin. I sigh. I worry too much. I thought it was someone I didn't know. I step towards him and put my hand on his shoulder.

He jumps because I surprised him when my hand touched his shoulder. I let out a little laugh because it's what he did to me when we walked on the plank to the ship. "Great snakes! I thought you're—why are you dripping wet?" he asks surprisingly. "Sorry, I just slept and—wait, what time is it?" I ask him, suddenly aware of the time. "It's 6:10 pm. You got me worried sick! I waited and waited for you, but you didn't come. I thought something bad happened to you, and I asked some people to help me find you. They searched all parts of the ship, but they couldn't find you. I borrowed a duplicate of your room key and there, I found you," he explains. "Why are you soaking wet? Look, your clothes are wet. What have you done this time?" he asks. "I, uh, sleep in the tub," I answer him, scratching my forehead. "You slept in the tub? With water? Are you crazy?" Tintin asks. "What? No," I reply. "It's my routine. I just feel calm and quiet sleeping in water."

"Go clean and dry yourself up. The ball will start at 9:00 pm. I asked someone in the ship and I got that information," Tintin tells me. "But I have nothing decent to wear," I say. "They said there will be two ladies coming to your room by 6:15 pm to help you prepare. Maybe someone really forgot to tell us about it. Mine too, and captain and the professor," Tintin says. "I need to leave now. There will also be someone help me prepare." He leaves the room.

I roll my eyes. I pick up a mop in the bathroom and start mopping the water off the floor. Then, I hear someone coming inside. It must be the two ladies. I pop my head from the bathroom and the two ladies see me, with a medium-sized bag on the other girl's hand. "Hello, Ms. Diana, would you please come closer?" the first woman says. "Uhm, okay," I tell them and I put down the mop. I walk towards them. The second woman places her hands on her cheeks. She says, "Oh my, Ms. Diana—"

"You can simply call me Diana," I tell them. "Diana, why are you soaking wet?" she asks. "Oh, I slept in the tub. With water. A while ago," I tell them. "Oh, could we please get off the topic now?" I say. I feel awkward saying this to them. "Since I don't have any decent clothes, I guess I shouldn't have to come to the ball instead. Besides, I'm just invited to keep safety of somebody." The first girl widens her eyes. "Oh no! You should come. Every passenger of the _Cassus_ is expected to come to the ball," she says. "Oh, okay. I guess you can help me," I say.

"Very well. Look at you! You need to be cleaned up! By the way, I'm Charlotte and this is Barbara," Charlotte points to the lady beside her. Charlotte is blonde, while Barbara is a redhead. "Let's start by having you take a quick bath."

Charlotte and Barbara accompanied me into the bathroom, closed the door, and while they're waiting for me outside, they requested me to strip off my wet clothes and take a quick bath. I fill the tub with water, unbraid my hair, and soak myself into it while cleaning myself up. And ten minutes later, I walk out of bathroom with a robe on. "I'm done," I tell them, as I brush my hair dry with a towel. "Diana, your friend told us that you don't know about the ball until now. You just knew about it when you got on the ship," Charlotte says to me, as the two of them start brushing my hair straight. "Yes, it was never mentioned in our letter from our boss that there's going to be a ball. What's the ball for?" I ask them.

"They will hold a celebration for the start of the expedition, hoping it will give us good luck," Barbara explains. "All passengers are requested to join in, even the crew. Like us. But don't worry about that, we will be prepared by the time we are through with you," Charlotte says. "I hope you don't mind me asking, what are your positions in the ship? I mean, what are you doing in the ship?" I ask them. "We're actually the cook," Barbara says, smiling. "The cook?" I exclaim unbelievably. "Yes, but we're former stylists for some stage performers, so we are the ones that volunteered with helping you prepare for the ball," Charlotte explains. "Now, I'm thinking of tying your hair in a pretty bun."

"Good idea," Barbara says. Charlotte puts some cream in my hair and combs it straight. She ties my hair up in a simple ponytail, braids it down my back, and rolls it up the ponytail to make the bun. She secures some of the ends of my hair sticking out the bun with pieces of bobby pins. "There, you look better," Charlotte says as she inspects my hair. Barbara trims my nails. Charlotte puts some makeup on my face, but I told her not to put too much because it doesn't make me comfortable. "Should we remove your eyeglasses?" Barbara asks me. "No. I can't see clearly without it," I tell her. "How about your black pearl earrings?" she asks again. "Oh no. My parents gave it to me. I would like to keep them on, if you don't mind," I tell her. She nods and smiles and continues to trim my nails.

After a hours of putting makeup on my face, trimming my nails, putting jewelry on my neck and hands, making my hairstyle look good and any other ways of beautifying someone, I sit on the bed and found them looking at me, smiling. "You look beautiful, Diana," Charlotte says. "What's left is something you have to wear," Barbara says. She pulls open a tube orange dress from the bag. "I'm sorry, but I don't wear sleeveless dresses," I tell them. "Why is that?" they ask. "I don't feel comfortable wearing things like that. I feel cold," I tell them. "Very well. I think you should try this instead. Your dresses are the same type as this," she says, and pulls out another dress from the bag. They're right. It's the same type I wear. Simple white long sleeve with some puffs at the start of the shoulder in a green bodice with intricate designs. The skirt is in different shades of green with the same intricate patterns. "That looks beautiful," I say. "I bet it'll look more beautiful on you," Barbara says. They both help me get dressed on it. The sweetheart neckline of the dress helps in revealing the necklace more. The skirt reaches the ground and hides my feet.

Charlotte pulls out a pair of high heeled shoes. "No, I'm not wearing that," I tell them. "It's the only option you have," Barbara says. "I think I'll do better in my bare feet," I tell them. "Really?" Charlotte asks. "Yes. It'll be no problem because the skirt hides my feet, so people wouldn't notice my feet. Look, you still have thirty minutes to prepare," I tell them. "Can you come back here after the ball? I need to return these items you let me use and wear," I ask them. "Sure, Diana. No problem," Charlotte says. They walk out of the door with their bag. "Hey," I catch up. "Thank you very much for the help," I tell them. "No problem, Diana. We're happy to help," Charlotte says. And they bid me goodbye.

I stretch my arms. I look at the clock hanging on the room. "Time's so fast. It's already 8:30 pm. Maybe I should finish the mopping?" I ask myself. I walk into the bathroom, but the skirt I'm wearing is too long. The water might touch it and might get soaked in water. "I guess I should continue it after the ball," I say to myself. I pick up my diamond ring I left in the bathroom when I took a quick bath and puts it into my skirt pocket. I sit for complete thirty minutes and walk to the ball room. "Wow," the word comes out my mouth. I can't help it. The room is so big, decorated with strips of cloths in different colors, and a large stage is in front of the tables scattered along the floor. People wearing elegant dresses are present, either talking to each other or ordering drinks or walking around. A big space is reserved in the middle of the big, big room that must be the dance floor. The orchestra is on the left side of the stage, playing different kinds of music. I see Tintin, Snowy, Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus, Thompson and Thomson walking up to me. They all wear different suits but different styles and colors, but Tintin looks so dashing in his suit.

"Diana! Good thing we found you. We're seated there, table number 5," Tintin says, pointing at a circular table near the stage. "Oh, we're very near the stage," I say. Snowy barks happily at me and I bend down to pat his head. "You even got Snowy prepared for the ball," I say to Tintin, laughing a little. "Yes," he says, laughing too. Snowy barks again, moving his little bowtie tied to his neck a little left. "Hey, Tintin, I got something to show you," I lift my skirt and pops my left foot out, and Tintin laughs. "You didn't wear any shoes," he says as he laughs. "I don't want to wear the high heels Charlotte and Barbara lent me," I tell him. "Ahh, Diana. You look good in your dress," Captain Haddock compliments me. "Thank you, captain. Your suit looks perfect on you," I compliment him back. He laughs softly. "Come on, let's sit. My feet are aching," Professor Calculus says. We all walk together and sit on the table.

Professor Mike appears on the stage in his blue suit. "Good evening, everyone! We are all here on the ship _Cassus_, celebrating our start of expedition. I hope, that we can finish our expedition safe and sound. We started sailing at Belgium, and hope to reach the western part of Greenland, in which the island we seek, Borione, can be found. Now, let me introduce myself. I'm Professor Mike Wilson. And this is our captain, Captain Ahmet Smith," he says as he points towards the captain, who is now standing up. The audience claps. There was a long table in the large stage in which the captain sits with five other men, one chair is empty. "Let me introduce to you, the five amazing professors who will be our companions in this expedition for the next days. Let's five a big round of applause for Professors Carl Peeters, Maverick Jacobs, John Lambert, Philip de Smet, and Liam Dubois!" All the five professors sitting on the table stand up, and applauses from the audience are heard. "Let us thank them for they funded this expedition. They will work on the researches along the way and will help us in the ship. We have special guests. First, Mr. Tintin, the famous reporter who was known for his adventures and discoveries!" Tintin stands up and walks up the stage and takes a bow, applauses are heard. "Second, Captain Archibald Haddock, who will help Captain Ahmet Smith in his journey and sailing the ship _Cassus_!" Captain Haddock walks up the stage and takes a bow like Tintin, and applauses are heard once again. "Third, Professor Cuthbert Calculus, who will help up us research regarding Borione and other matters!" I nudge Professor Calculus, who doesn't seem to hear he is being called, despite the loud voice used, and he seems to know what to do and does what Tintin and Captain Haddock did. Applauses are heard once more. "Last but not the least, Thompson and Thomson, the best detectives assigned to protect the safety of our special guests!" Both did what the others did, and applauses are heard again. "Our special guests may be back on their table now," Professor Mike says, and all of them return to their seats. "Why isn't Diana called?" Tintin asks. "We cannot reveal her to the public, she's still a secret of the Interpol," Thompson says. "Only a few people know her identity."

"Please enjoy the rest of the night!" Professor Mike says as he seats down the table and the audience delivers the last applause. Foods are delivered into the tables. We eat talking about the expedition while music plays. When we are already finished, the orchestra plays some dance music, and people rise from their seats and invite others to dance with them on the dance floor. "Oh, look, they got some whisky over there," Captain Haddock says. "I'm going to get some." He stands up with his glass and leaves the table. "Do you mind if I go invite somebody to dance?" Professor Calculus asks us. All of us shake our heads. "No? Okay. I'll just dance with someone." He leaves the table and looks for a partner. "We'll just go chit-chat with the others," Thompson and Thomson leaves the tables, leaving me, Tintin, and Snowy at the table. "Well, they're all gone," I say as I pat Snowy. Tintin smiles and I look at the people dancing on the dance floor. "Would you mind if I ask you to dance with me?" Tintin asks, smiling. "No, not at all," I reply. He stands up, takes my hand and brings me into the dance floor. He puts his hand on my waist, and I put mine in his shoulder. Our other hands are clasped together. "I don't know how to dance," I tell him. "You can if you follow me," he says. "You know, Diana, you really look stunning tonight. Where did you get your dress?" Tintin asks. "The ladies who helped me prepare tonight lent me this dress. I'll be honest, too. You look absolutely dashing in your suit," I tell him, smiling. "Really? Gee, thanks," Tintin says, smiling too. "You didn't remove the necklace I gave to you. Why didn't you wear it off first and wear something else?" he asks. "As I told you before, I don't remove it. I want to keep it that way," I tell him. I keep on stepping on his shoes. "Sorry," I apologize softly. "Don't worry, it's not that much," he says. "Diana, do you have any special man?" Tintin asks. "Special man? Why?" I ask, and I feel myself blushing. "You're a pretty woman, and no one courts you?" he asks. I feel my heart beat faster.

"Some men attempt, but, because of my job, I shouldn't have one," I tell him, and I feel myself blush more. "Why shouldn't you have one?" he asks. "Distraction, maybe? I don't know, but my boss said it to me," I tell him. I keep silent for a moment, but I ask him something. "How about you, don't you have one?" I ask him. He looks down, maybe seeing if I step on his shoes again. He smiles and looks at me. "I'll be honest. I _had_ one, and I think you could guess who she is," he says. I think for a moment. Suddenly, the idea came into my mind. "Gina?" I ask him. He looks down again, and smiles. "Yes," he answers. "But that was before."

"I think she still loves you. I can tell it," I tell him. He looks up to me. "How can you say? I don't think if I still feel something for her," Tintin says to me. "Because I'm a woman too," I tell him. "Maybe you should try to get your relationship back again," I tell him. He says nothing. He just stares at me. I found myself staring at his eyes. I feel myself blush and my heart beats faster than ever. I look away, and I let go of him. He stares at me, confused. I don't know what to say, but at least I got something to cover me up. I see Gina, walking towards us. "I think you should dance with her. Talk to each other, maybe," I tell him, pointing at Gina. He looks at what I was pointing at. "I don't think I—"

"You can. Sorry, I just need some air, Tintin. I think I'll go outside for a while," I tell him. "Okay," he says confusedly. "Be careful." I walk away and I see Gina take his hand and they dance together. I open the door outside, and breathe in the cool breeze. "Ah, finally some air," I tell him. I lean against the metal handles. Someone grabs my shoulder. "Huh?" I look back, and I see Kurt.

"It's just you. You scared me a little," I tell him. "I can tell there is something bothering you. What is it?" Kurt asks me, leaning against the handles too. "Nothing," I say. "Really? I can help," he says. I look into his eyes. I'm hesitating to tell him, but, my heart says I should. "I feel something…not right," I tell him. "I feel different when I see him. My heart…it's different when I see him. When I'm around him." Kurt makes a confused face. "Him? You mean Tintin?" Kurt asks. I nod. "Why do you feel different?" he asks. "I don't know. The feelings just there, all so suddenly," I tell him. "When did you feel that?" Kurt asks. "Just…now. But there's some times that the feelings' mild," I tell him.

"Well, I think it's clear that," Kurt says. "You developed some feelings for your best friend."


	5. Chapter 5: Eye

**Point of View: Tintin**

"Tintin! Let's dance!" Gina walks up to me on the dance floor as I see Diana walk out of the scene. "Is that Diana?" Gina says, frowning. "Yes, why?" I ask her. "Nothing," she replies. "Are you going to dance with me or not?" she asks, putting both of her hands on her waist. Her blond hair was curled in a cascade of ringlets. She wears a gold, tube gown decorated with a big flower on one side. Her lips are very red from the makeup. She looks weird for me. "The man is supposed to invite the lady to dance," I tell her. "So?" she says. "I didn't ask you to dance with me," I tell her. "Don't be so choosy now! Come on!" she says, pulling my hand.

I sigh. I was forced to dance with someone I didn't even invite, and the lady who I invited was the one who told me to dance with this lady. Why did Diana walk away after I asked her about having someone special? That made me think so much. And I could've sworn I saw her blush when she looked at me before letting go of my hold.

"You look sad. Are you troubled?" Gina asks. I look at her. Now I notice I'm not focused on dancing with her. "No," I reply. She looks down for a while. "Tintin," she says, getting my attention. "What is it?" I ask her. "Will you…will you give me a second chance?" she asks me seriously. The question made me shock I accidentally step on her foot. "Ow," she groans. "Sorry," I say, looking at her. I know what that second chance means. Both of us are standing now, not dancing. "I…don't know," I tell her. "I'm sorry, Gina. I'm not in the mood to talk about this." This time, it's me who let go of the one who was dancing with me. I walk away, leaving Gina on the dance floor alone.

I walk back to our table, where I see Snowy helping himself with the food left on my plate. He happily munches on it as he stands up on my chair. "I knew this would happen," I say. "Off the chair, Snowy." He whimpers and his ears fall, and then he jumps off the chair. I sit back on the chair, holding up the leftover meat he had eaten. "Ah, I should have given this to you a moment ago. Now I need to ask for a new plate. Here," I tell him, throwing the meat on the floor as he catches it happily. I rest my cheek against my fist, thinking of the unexpected events that just happened. "Ah, Tintin! Here, drink some," Captain Haddock approaches me, holding up a bottle of whisky to my nose. I gently push away the bottle, not wanting to smell anymore of the stuff inside. "Thank you, but I wouldn't want to drink some," I answer him. Captain Haddock looks at me. "What happened?" he asks me. "Huh? What are you talking about, captain?" I ask him annoyingly, turning my face away from him. "I see you got a problem there," he says, sitting down the chair. "It's just…Gina," I tell him. Captain Haddock looks shocked. "Gina? Gina Maxfield? The girl who always comes inside Marlinspike Hall last year?" he asks me. "Yes," I answer. Captain Haddock leans closer to me. "Tintin," he says. "I heard that some people on the ship are plotting to get some treasure in the island. I don't think the treasure thing is real."

That caught my attention. "You think so, captain? I believe it," I tell him. "Why, Tintin?" he asks me confusedly. "The treasure we got in the Marlinspike Hall is enough to convince me that there's a chance that the rumored treasure on Borione is real. We should watch out for these people, they might do something," I tell him. "Wow, you're still sober, captain. How many bottles did you drink?" He chugs down his bottle of whisky. "Just this. They gave me only one bottle, said that I should be sober. I insisted, but they pushed me away from the table," he explains. He tips his bottle upside-down, and one drop of whisky jumps out from it. "Blistering barnacles, it's already empty," he says annoyingly. He puts down the bottle on the table. "Where are the others?" he asks.

"Professor Calculus is off to dance with someone," I tell him. "Dance? With whom?" Captain Haddock asks me. "I don't know. Thompson and Thomson just went off to talk with some people," I answer him. "Eh, what about Diana?" he asks again. "Well, Diana just…" I mumble as I remember when she looked at me and let go of my hold. I shook my head to get the memory out of my mind. "She just went off to get some fresh air. I think she don't feel well in a crowded area," I answer Captain Haddock in a much clearer and louder voice. "Do you know how long before we arrive at the island?" I ask the captain. Captain Haddock taps his chin. "From what I heard, it will be three weeks. They said that they will be traveling at full speed, and the waves are helping us move faster," Captain Haddock answers. "The ship moves so fast."

"That's a good thing," I tell him. "Tintin," Captain Haddock says. "Someone told me that there's a sea monster lying at the bottom of the sea. They told me that it was the cause of the failure of the first two expeditions," he says to me. That caught my attention. "A sea monster? That's impossible," I tell Captain Haddock. "Tintin, with the mysterious appearance of Borione, aren't you convinced about the sea monster? You believe on the treasure lying on the island, but on the sea monster within the seas, you do not believe," he says. "I believe it, Tintin. Many ships sailing this part of the ocean have sunk. They also told me that two of the five professors on the first two expeditions died on this part of the ocean, caused by the sea monster. Other crew also died," he says. "I don't know if I should believe it or not, captain," I say. Captain Haddock leans closer. "I think you should believe it. The stories convince me," Captain Haddock says. He looks at me, and I'm thinking of what he had said. "I don't feel very well, captain. I think I'll just go to my cabin and rest for a while. I'll think about what you said. I'll be back," I tell him. He nods, and Snowy and I leave the ball room.

I see Kurt leaning against the metal handles. I walk closer to him. "Good evening, Kurt. How do you do?" I greet him. "Oh, Tintin, it's you. I'm fine; I just don't get along with my sister and with the others at the ball. She keeps looking for someone. She doesn't pay me any attention, so I left her. Nobody wants to dance with me either," he says as he laughs. "Sister? You have a sister here?" I ask him, surprised. "Yes. Actually, she's my stepsister," he tells me. I feel ashamed asking him about his personal life. "Wait, sorry. I'm not supposed to ask you that, right?" I apologize. He smiles. "It's okay. I'm used in telling people my personal life. I'll continue. We have the same mother, but different fathers. She's older. Our mother left my sister's father and she currently lives with my father. Good thing my sister gets along with my father very well," he tells me. I nod. "Can you tell me what she does in the ship?" I ask him.

"She does nothing in the ship," he says, laughing. "Actually, she isn't one of the crew; she just paid her way here. She insisted some of the guards who are guarding the ship a while ago, but they won't let her in. So she paid them with a big amount and let her board the ship. Said that she is following someone," Kurt says. I froze in my position, knowing what he said. I just can't believe the possibility of these events. "I can't believe that my sister would go this far of stalking someone," Kurt says, laughing softly. I feel my sweat trickling down the sides of my head. "Kurt," I try to say, clearing my mind. "By any chance, is your sister named Gina?" I ask him.

"Gina? Yes. How did you know?" he asks me confusedly. "Well…" I mumble. "I met her in an event last year. We became…friends," I tell him. Kurt nodded. "She wanted to use my father's surname, but my mother told her to use her father's surname instead," Kurt says. "So you have different surnames?" I ask him. "Yes. We are always mistaken to be friends, not siblings. Of course, we are so different from each other. With me having coffee bean brown skin and Gina having pale skin. Since I haven't met his father, I assume our fathers are so different from each other," he says. "Yes, you're very different from each other," I tell him, laughing softly; hoping that it wouldn't offend him. Fortunately, he returned my laugh. "I will be going now, Kurt. Thank you for the story," I say. Kurt waves his hand as Snowy and I step down the ladder.

"Snowy, since we're here, I think we should find Diana," I look at him, and he lets out a bark of approval. We peek in different areas, but we couldn't find her. "Let's look for her in her cabin," I tell Snowy. We both go to her cabin. I knock my fist gently at the door, hoping she would answer. Seconds later, she opens the door. "Huh? Oh, Tintin, it's just you," she says, opening the door wider than before. Her wisps of hair beside her hair are obviously wet. Eyeliner was smeared down her eyes. "What happened to you?" I ask her, surprised. "What? Oh," she says, as she wipes her eyeliner with a cloth. "I don't want to go back anymore. I'm not used to crowded areas, and I'm not comfortable wearing makeup," Diana says to me, wiping the rest of her face. "Come with me. You need some air, too," I tell Diana. She smiles, and then nods.

We lean against the metal handles and breathe in some air. She looks down at the sea water, looking worried. "You looked worried," I say. I stare at her, and I think she got prettier. It's been a long time since I last saw her. I blush, and I shook the idea out of my head. She looks at me, and back at the water. "Nothing," she says, clasping her necklace. We are silent for a moment, but then Diana speaks up. "Tintin," she says. "Do you remember the time when I rescued you from the bullies?" I smile. "Yes," I reply. "What did you feel when I rescued you from those bullies?"

"I feel that someone really cares for me," I say. "I feel braver. After seeing you fight, despite your fear, I feel that I should be brave. If you were in the same situation like mine, I will fight against the bullies, even if I was afraid," I continue. "Why would you do that?" she asks me. I straighten my back. "I think you know that answer to that. Because you're my friend, of course," I tell her, holding her shoulder. She bends her head lower. "Yes. Friends," she mutters. "Friends," I repeat. I look at her, and her expression becomes gloomier. She stands up straight, and she faces me. "Tintin," she says. "This necklace you gave me when I left is the symbol of our friendship," she continues. She removes the small hourglass from its detachable hook. She takes my hand and places the hourglass in my palm, and she closes my hand. "Keep the other pendant. Every time you turn it upside down, and the sand falls, it means our friendship is not over. But if it stops, it means it's over. That pendant is so important to me. So please, take care of it. Don't let it get broken. Make every sand fall, or you'll lose me," she says to me. I feel myself blush when she said about losing her.

I look at the hourglass in my hand. I turned it upside down, and the sand begins to fall. I smile. "Don't worry. I won't," I tell her. I look at her sea green eyes and smile. I blush more, but Snowy barks at us happily, distracting us. She kneels to pat his head. "Of course, Snowy wouldn't be forgotten," she says, as I laugh softly and I see her pat Snowy's head. I look at the dark sky, and I'm amazed at the number of stars. "The sky looks amazing tonight," I say. Diana says nothing, but I assume she's smiling. I look at the sky more, but I hear Diana gasp.

"What is it?" I say, looking down at her direction. One of her hands is cupped over her mouth, and the other one is at Snowy's head. They are both looking at the sea water. "Diana, what is it?" I repeat. "I think I saw…" her voice fades. "Nothing," she says. She puts her hand on her forehead for a while, and then she kisses Snowy on the forehead. She stands up. "I think I should have a rest. I thought I just saw an eye on the water. Good night, Tintin. Thank you for the talk," she says as she walks away from us.

For a moment, I look at the water, thinking if I really should believe Captain Haddock or not.


	6. Chapter 6: Belief

**Point of View: Tintin**

"Come on, Snowy," I gesture at Snowy to come with me. I walk back to my cabin and sit on the bed. I keep on thinking about what Captain Haddock said earlier, and what Diana saw on the water that kept me thinking if I really should believe Captain Haddock.

An eye on the water. Is that the sea monster? Or is it just her hallucination?

I breathe in deeply, and shake my head to clear my mind. I came here to rest, not to think of things that would bother me. I put the small hourglass in my pocket. I bend down to remove my shoes, and kick them off my feet. I straighten my back and lie in bed. I feel Snowy jump up the bed and lie beside me. I pat his body, and I bury my face in his fur before dozing off, still thinking of the eye on the water Diana saw.

I wake up, and I look at my watch. It's already 11:00 pm. I sit up, open the lights, and stretch my body. I look at the mirror, and my suit is still okay for presenting to other people. I pull some parts of my suit, hoping that some crumpled parts would straighten. I straighten my bowtie, and spin around to look at myself. I look okay, and I style my hair to make it look neat. Snowy also wakes up, and nudges me to straighten his bowtie. I spray on some perfume to smell good, and I slip my feet on my shoes once again. I arrange the bed, and Snowy and I walk out of my cabin.

I walk up the stairs, wondering if the ball is still going on. I reach the ball room, and the ball is still going on. "Come on, Snowy," I say. "Let's find Captain Haddock and the others." He barks happily, and run after me. I walk up our table and found my all of my friends present. Of course, with the exception of Diana. "Hello," I greet them, and I sit on the chair. Snowy sits on Diana's chair. "Where have you been, Tintin?" Thompson asks me. "I just rested for a while," I answer him, scratching my head. "So, what happened?" I ask them. "Nothing important, really," Thomson replies. "Just a bunch of new music played by the orchestra and a few greetings from Captain Ahmet."

I nod. "By the way, Professor Calculus," I say. "Professor Mike told me that you should be on the Research room by 8:00 pm…" my voice fades. I became confused because I didn't know there's a ball, and he surely asked me to tell Professor Calculus to be on the Research room. But all the professors are on the ball. "Well, I assume that he means you have to be at the Research room by 8:00 pm tomorrow. He didn't told me when, but, I'm sure it's going to be tomorrow," I say. "Your bow? Oh it's completely fine," Professor Calculus says, pointing at my bowtie. I sigh. "Captain Haddock, can you please tell Professor Calculus what I have said? You're much closer to him. And remind him to use his hearing device," I ask Captain Haddock.

"Sure," he says, and he leans at Professor Calculus and says what Professor Mike asked me to tell him. Professor Calculus fumbles for his ear trumpet, and he sticks it in his ear and nods as Captain Haddock tells him what I asked him to tell. We all talk about the ball, and eat our food. Captain Haddock stays silent as he rests his chin on his hand as he looks through the ball room's big windows.

"Captain Haddock," I say. "Is there something troubling you?" He looks at me. "Tintin," he says. "Where is Diana?" he asks. "She is at her cabin, resting. I don't think she won't be back for the ball," I reply. "Where is her cabin?" he asks. "Just beside Thompson and Thomson's cabin. You know their cabin right?" I ask him. "Yes. Well, excuse me for a moment," he tells me, as he stands up and runs out of the ball room. He's been acting strange since I left the ball room and went back again. I stare at my food when Snowy nudges his nose up to my arm. "What is it, Snowy?" I ask him. He barks at the direction of the ball room's exit. I assume he is tired already, and is inviting me back to sleep again. "You're tired, Snowy, my boy? Come on, let's head back to our cabin," I tell him. I stand up. "Thompson and Thomson, Professor; I will be leaving the ball now. I think Snowy is tired," I say. "Oh, go on, Tintin. Have a nice night," they both say together. "You too," I say, and Snowy and I head back to our cabin.

As we walk down the steps, Snowy runs fast ahead of me. "Snowy, wait up," I tell him. He barks, and runs faster than ever. "Oh, Snowy," I sigh as I run after him. We are at our line of cabins now, and Snowy is waiting for me in front of our cabin. "I'm coming there," I tell him. He barks happily and wags his tail. I pick my key up in my pocket, and walk up to my cabin. I was about to place my key into the slot when Snowy barks again, but when I look down, he isn't there. I look around, and I see him in front of Diana's cabin. "What is it this time, Snowy?" I sigh. "Come here, Snowy. Come here." Snowy barks again, but he didn't walk up to me. "There's no time for playing, Snowy. I thought you're tired. Come here," I tell him. He barks again, but he didn't walk up to me. I frown. He sniffs the cabin's door, and barks at me. I groan and say, "Snowy, come back here." I walk up to him, and pick him up. "Why won't you listen to me, you ha—"

"—told me that there's a monster," says someone from Diana's room. Wait, isn't that Captain Haddock? I put down Snowy, finally realizing what he wants me to do. I put my finger up to my lips, gesturing him to keep silent. I know eavesdropping is bad, but I tried it already. I move my ear up the door, and try to concentrate on what they are talking about. "A monster? In the sea?" Diana asks him confusedly. "Yes, a monster. I believe that there's one. Many ships have sunk on the part of the ocean, and I think the sea monster caused it," Captain Haddock says. "I believe you, Captain," Diana says. I widen my eyes. Diana believed the Captain regarding the monster, unlike me. "Really?" he asks. "Yes. A moment ago, I thought I just saw an eye in the ocean. A big, yellow eye. I thought it's just my hallucination, but it makes sense to me now. That must be the sea monster's eye!" she says. "I'm with Tintin at that time, but I don't know if he heard me say that I saw the eye."

"He heard you," Captain Haddock says. "Why do you think he had?" Diana asks him. "He's your best friend. You didn't see each other for years, I'm sure he will listen to every word you say," Captain Haddock says. "We must tell Captain Ahmet about it!" Diana says. "I don't know if he'll believe it. But…" Captain Haddock's voice fades. "But he can believe it, if I'll tell him what I saw!" Diana says. "Thank you for telling me, Captain," she says. "I should go now, Diana. I must…" I run away from the door, carrying Snowy, knowing that if Captain Haddock sees me by the door, he'll know I'm eavesdropping. I wind up the key into the slot, and close my door.

So that's why Captain Haddock asked me where Diana is. He warned her about the sea monster, not knowing that Diana saw its eye accidentally. I'm starting to believe that there really is a monster. I untie my bowtie, and throw it on the desk mirror. I kick the shoes off my feet, and sit on the bed. I'm still thinking of what I heard. What if there really is a monster? What would happen to us now?

Snowy barks at me, and wags his tail. "What a long night, Snowy. Come on, let's sleep," I pat his head. I change into my sleeping clothes and lie on the bed, and close my eyes before dozing off once again, thinking of the things I heard.

_Next morning…_

I stretch my back. It's the second day on the ship. I take a bath, and change into my usual clothes. I open the door, and I feel the warm sunlight touching my face. It's another day at the ship. I walk around the ship, greeting the crew. I walk a little more and then I see Captain Haddock in his usual clothes, his expression still the same from last night. "Good morning, Captain," I greet him. "Good morning, Tintin," he says. "I need to talk to you." Captain Haddock gestured at me to follow him, and he led me in front of his cabin.

He leans against the metal handles. "Tintin, why didn't you tell me that Diana saw the monster's eye on the ocean water last night?" he asks me. I stare at him. "I…I forgot," I tell him. He looks at me. "Good thing I warned her about the monster and she told me about what she saw last night," Captain Haddock says. "Do you believe it now, Tintin?" I look down. "I don't know, Captain. I'm still confused," I say. Captain Haddock walks up to me and pats my shoulder. "Just keep watch, Tintin. The sea monster might be there anytime," he says.

"Sea monster?" someone says. Captain Haddock and I look back, and we see Gina. "Gina? What are you doing here?" I ask her annoyingly. "I went to see you. What sea monster are you talking about?" she asks us. "Didn't you hear from the other crew and passengers? They said that there's a sea monster up and about in the sea," Captain Haddock tells her. "Be careful about it, young lady," he says, before leaving us. "A sea monster? Is that true?" Gina asks me. "I don't know. I'm still confused," I say to her. "Confused? Why confused?" Gina asks me again. "Last night, Diana said that she saw an eye in the sea water, but I don't know if that's just a hallucination or something," I tell Gina.

Gina frowns. "So you talked with Diana," she says. "What? Yes, I did. What if I talked to her? Is it forbidden?" I tell her, completely flabbergasted. Gina looks at me. "Why won't you talk to me?" she asks me. "I am now," I tell her. "What did you come here for?" I ask her. "I would like to know your answer to my question last night," she says. "My answer?" I say. "Yes, your answer," she says impatiently. "I can't answer your question now," I tell her, walking away. She grips my wrist and stops me. "Hey! What now?" I ask her. "Tintin, do you… do you still like me?" she asks me. "What kind of question is that?" I ask her, pulling my wrist away. "Answer me!" she says, her voice getting louder.

I stare at her, completely surprised. "Gina, I didn't come to this ship for that. So please leave me alone first," I tell her. "Please," she says. "Answer me." I start to get annoyed; I'm not in the mood to talk about this. "Stop it," I say. She looks down. Her fists are shaking. "I knew it," she says softly. "What?" I ask her, pretending not to hear her. She looks up at me. "You like Diana!" she says, her tears falling down. "What? Gina, stop this nonsense!" I shout at her. "You can't answer me because you like her!" she screams, but no one notices or hears because it's only the two of us on the area. "My question is so simple! If you can't answer my question, just say 'no'! It's easy!" she shouts. "Why won't you answer me? Last night, you left me on the ball without saying anything! Then now, you won't answer! You wouldn't even want to talk to me! It's so simple!" I'm hearing every word she shouts. I assume she's crying now, because her voice is shaking. I can't face her right now. I look down, my fists are shaking of anger, yet she continues to shout. "Answer me! Face me and look me in the eye! It's easy, right? Come one, and—"

"So what if I like Diana?" I faced and shout at her. She stops shouting, and she stares at me, her eyes widened, her mouth slightly open.

I look down. _What did I just say?_

There's silence. We stood there, not saying a thing.

"I knew it," she says softly. "But, still… you can still answer me," Gina says, facing me again. "Stop it, Gina. Stop!" I tell her, facing her. "Tintin, please! I still lo—"

"Stop!" I cup my hand over her mouth and she stops shouting. "Stop this, Gina." I can feel her hands clasping my wrist. I pull down my hand that cupped her mouth. "I'm sorry. There are more important things than that subject," I tell her, before walking away with Snowy.

I closed myself in my room. I sit on the bed, my head buried in my arms. What did I just say? Is it true?

I feel something nudge my leg. Snowy. "I don't know what's happening, but I think I should avoid Gina for a while," I tell him, patting his head. Snowy whimpers and he jumps on my lap and gives me a wet kiss. "Alright, alright," I tell him, laughing softly. "Thank you for making me happy." He gives me another kiss, and he buries his face in my chest. "Let's go outside," I tell him. "There are other things we should do."

_That night…_

"The weather's awfully bad now," Captain Haddock says to me. The sky is dark, and is covered thick, grey clouds. The rain falls gently; more like drizzle. "Where is Diana?" Captain Haddock asks me. "Oh, I haven't seen her since morning," I tell him. The idea of her makes me awkward because I remember what happened this morning. "Maybe we should go look for her," I suggest. "The others are okay, though."

Captain Haddock and I wander around the ship, calling Diana. We both ask the crew, but they don't know where she is. We look for her longer, but then Kurt comes running towards us. "Captain Haddock! Tintin! We got a problem!" he calls our attention. "What is it?" Captain Haddock asks him. "It's Diana. She went over to talk with Captain Ahmet. I don't know, but she was being held back by some crew. Said she needed to say something to the Captain," Kurt explains, as he pants from running.

"Oh no. She did what she said!" Captain haddock exclaimed. "What is it, Captain?" I ask him, pretending I don't know what he talks about. "She told me last night that she will tell Captain Ahmet about the sea monster, and she'll say what she saw the same night, too. She thinks the Captain will believe him!" Captain Haddock explains. "Excuse me, but what is it about the sea monster?" Kurt asks, completely confused. "We'll explain later. Where's Diana?" I ask him. "At the ship's bridge, " Kurt says. "Lead us there," I tell him, and he runs as we run after him.

We come in the ship's bridge, and there are so many people in there. I can hear Diana shouting.

"But Captain, I saw it last night!" she says, and there are people holding her away from the Captain. "Nonsense! Ms. Diana, you might have seen the reflection of the ship's light on the water," Captain Ahmet disagrees, as he stands there with his smoking pipe. Another person takes charge of sailing the ship. "Please, captain, believe me! I saw it with my own eyes!" she says more. I hold her shoulder. "Diana," I say. "What are you doing?" I ask her. She looks behind her. "Tintin, Captain Haddock. Help me!" she says. "Oh, so you're asking help to make me believe? What you have said is nonsense! Repeat that, and I will have you locked up in this ship!" Captain Ahmet says angrily. "You should at least believe it, Captain. What if it is?" I tell him. "And what if it isn't? A sea monster within the seas, what nonsense! I sailed the seas, lad. I never been on a sea with a monster!" he says. "Go back to your cabins. Or else if you force me again to believe your lies, I will have your team locked up!" he says. "It's for the safety of your crew!" Captain Haddock shouts. "You dare answer back to me, Haddock? For the last time, get out, and don't ever repeat that lie!"

Suddenly, the ship tilted to the right, and almost all crew fell on their feet. The only ones left standing up are Captain Haddock, Captain Ahmet, Diana, Snowy and I. We look through the windows, and the drizzle turned into a storm. The ocean waves are much larger and more dangerous. The ship titled from side to side. "What's happening?" Captain Ahmet exclaimed. The left wall of the bridge sounded, and something big created a dent on it. "What the—"

Screams are heard. A huge, slimy tentacle poked a hole through the dent and got in between Captain Ahmet and Diana and I. The sudden appearance of the tentacle made us jump, and Captain Ahmet was thrown at the person who took the wheel. "The captain's unconscious!" he screamed. I shielded Diana from the force. "Are you okay?" she asks me. "Yes, I'm okay," I tell her. The tentacle slips out, leaving a very big hole on the left side of the bridge. "Everybody out of the room!" I shout. All of the crew stand up and run out of the bridge. "Blistering barnacles!" Captain Haddock curses. I help Diana and Captain Haddock stand up. "You! Get out of here with the Captain. Go!" I shout at the man who took the wheel, and he runs away with Captain Ahmet on his shoulders. "Captain Haddock, take the wheel!" I say. Captain Haddock runs to the wheel.

I run towards the hole, and saw something that made me believe that there's a monster.


	7. Chapter 7: Three Hits

**Point of View: Diana**

The monster… it's real.

I run towards the hole to join Tintin, and there, is a horrifying image of the Kraken. The size of the Kraken is two times of the ship, and instead of having the typical eight tentacles, this Kraken has twelve of them. It has a large head, and the color of its sclera is disturbingly yellow, and it has cat's pupils. It's almost invisible, but I can still see it, despite the storm. Its slimy skin has unusual patterns, and the size of the suckers is large enough to suck up a whole human.

The Kraken wails, and waves its tentacles and smashes different areas of the ship. The people screams as it wails once again, and its tentacles drop on the floor of the ship, and some people fall down. "Crap! It's a Kraken!" I scream. The Kraken looks at our area, which looks like it heard me. The Kraken raises one slimy tentacle and pushing it in the hole we are looking through. I push Tintin out of the way, and he stumbles down as the tentacle goes between us.

I pull out a dagger from my pocket. I throw it on the tentacle, and I hear the Kraken wail from the pain. I started to stand up, and run towards the tentacle. The dagger was stabbed deeply into the tentacle, leaving only the handle visible and the rest of the blade sunk deeply into the flesh. I pull out the dagger from the tentacle, but it seems to be stuck. So I pull it out stronger, but the tentacle weirdly vibrates. "Watch out, Diana!" Tintin screams at me. I look at him confusedly, and he seems to know what will happen. I pull out the dagger once more, and it was released. But something unexpected happened. The tentacle zapped with energy, and I was thrown back so strong.

"Diana!"Tintin shouts. The tentacle vibrates, and the Kraken pulls it out, leaving us surprised. I was sitting there, eyes wide open. "It's electric," I mumble. "What?" Tintin asks, helping me stand up. "It's electric! It isn't normal!" I shout. "We have to tell the people about it!"

Tintin shakes his head. "They will not hear it, Diana! The storm's so strong and loud!" he says. "Tell Captain Haddock that be responsible for sailing the ship. I have to get down. I have to warn the people!" I say. I started to run, but Tintin grabs my wrist. "It's dangerous!" he says. I pull my wrist away. "Don't you understand why I'm here? I have to protect you! I have to protect these people!" I explain to him. "But this is too much! You don't have to go! It's dangerous there!" he shouts. "I have to! It's my job! I can do this, Tintin. Believe in me," I say. "But what if you don't? I don't want you to go," he shouts. "That's why I'm telling you to believe in me! I have to go. These people need help. YOU need help," I tell him. "Don't go! Diana! Don't!" he shouts again. "Why, Tintin? It's for your own good. It's for everyone's sake!" I explain to him. I start to run again, but he grips my wrist again. "I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU!" he screams.

That caught my attention. I look back at him; I see tears already falling down his cheeks. He looks down. "I don't want to you lose you. Not again. Like the time you left," he says softly. I put my hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry," I seriously say. "You won't."

He looks up at me, surprised and his tears are gone. I slightly smile, and I run, making him let go of my wrist. I run down the metal stairs, I open the door, and the ghastly outside world is revealed. The crew and other people are screaming and running. I heard one man shout. "TO YOUR BATTLE POSITIONS!" he shouts. "Battle positions?" I thought to myself. I run around the wobbly, wet ship, and I can feel the raindrops that fall on my skin. "Hey!" I scream. I grab someone who is running. "Where can I announce?" I ask him. "U-up the r-radio r-room, miss. It's right b-below the b-bridge. There's a m-microphone t-there that was c-connected to the s-speakers a-around the s-ship," the man stammers. "Thank you," I say. I run inside the ship once again, and I walk up the stairs leading to the radio room.

And expectedly, there was a microphone. The person in charge here maybe got frightened and left the room. I push the button that turns the microphone on, and I will say what I have to say very loud. "EVERYONE! WE JUST FOUND OUT THAT THE KRAKEN IS ELECTRIC! EVERYONE STEER CLEAR OF ITS TENTACLES!" I heard my announcement around the ship. Suddenly, the ship vibrated, and I run out of the room. "What's happening?" I say. I run to the sides of ship, gripping the metal handles. I see cannons sticking out of the portholes. "Cannons? There are weapons in a passenger ship?" I ask. "Of course, there are! With the dangers the first two expeditions experienced, we need to be more prepared, right?" someone shouts.

I look back. There's Kurt, standing behind me, smiling despite the danger we're in. "Why cannons? Why not use better equipment?" I ask him. "Not enough fund, so we stick to old ones," he explains. The Kraken pushes the ship sideward, making me stumble back. "Blimey! I need to fight it now!" I scream, and I run up the ship, hoping that I would reach my cabin.

I kick the door of my cabin, and I zip open my bag. I attach a leather belt around my waist, and I hang my daggers on it. I pick up my quiver full of arrows and put it around my torso. Lastly, I pick up my bow. I run out of my cabin, and I walk up to the highest surface of the ship, which happens to be the bridge's roof. "Diana! Be careful!" Thompson and Thomson shouts at me. The ship became wobbly again and I can hear the cannon fires. The Kraken wails, and smashes its tentacle on the bow of the ship. Electricity runs through its tentacle, and some people get zapped. People screams, and I can see some crew falling on the ocean water. "NO!" I scream. The scene makes my heart hurt, so I pull out an arrow from my quiver and targeted my bow and arrow at the Kraken's eye. I move my bow a few inches to the left. The wind blows to the right, and if I release my arrow, the wind will carry it towards right, and will bury deep into the Kraken's eye.

I close my other eye, aiming carefully. Finally, I release the arrow, and I see it flying towards the Kraken's eye. It buries itself deep into the eye, making the Kraken wail and smashes its other tentacle on my side. I sidestep to the left, and the tentacle zaps with electricity. When the shock is gone, I run over the tentacle and I pull out a dagger from my belt. I drive the dagger deep into the tentacle, and I make a long wound which covers half of the tentacle by pulling the dagger down with its blade still buried deep in it. The Kraken wails and it pulls its tentacle up again. Slimy, glowing blue stuff drop from its wound, leaving some people drenched in it. "Ugh," I mumble. The ship becomes wobbly once more, and the Kraken angrily smashes one of its tentacles on other parts of the ship, while other tentacles are wrapped around the ship.

I shoot another arrow from my bow, targeting its eye once more. Fortunately, my arrow buries itself to the area I wanted. I keep on shooting arrows at it and the Kraken wails after being shot. But I noticed the problem. If I keep on shooting arrows at it, the Kraken will just wail and smash its tentacle, leaving worse damage than before. The arrows I shot are not helping either. The ship wobbles around more. But something unexpected happened. The Kraken smashes its tentacle on my area, making the ship tilt and I was thrown from the surface I was standing on. I find myself floating midair, not touching anything. I feel the raindrops falling on my face, and I hear someone scream.

"Diana!" Tintin screams and I see him looking through the big hole on the bridge. I look down, and I know that it's going to be my end, for I will fall in the water. I wish I could fall on the port instead, rather than the ocean. I reach for the handles on the side of the ship, but my fingers didn't reach it. My body falls down lower than the handles. Luckily, someone grabbed my arm, stopping my fall and I bang against the side of the ship. My hitting on the side of the ship is painful so I clench my teeth. I look up, and it's Kurt, the one who saved me. "You okay there?" he asks. "Not really! Thank you," I say. He pulls me up and I'm happy to be standing on the ship once again. "Thanks for saving me, Kurt. I owe you," I tell him. He nods. "Nice weapons you got there," he says. I smile for a moment, I turned serious again. "We should find out its weak spot. Perhaps it has one," I tell him. He opens his mouth to answer, but a tentacle smashes between us, and it zaps with electricity. Kurt's eyes widen. "Half of the tentacle is wounded!" he shouts.

I realize it's the tentacle I wounded with my dagger. I pull another dagger out of belt, and I slash the tentacle again. But this time, the tentacle splits in half. The Kraken wails louder, and pulls its tentacle up, leaving the other half resting on the floor of the ship. Again, slimy, glowing blue stuff spills from the other half of the tentacle. I look at the Kraken, who is still wailing. I just notice its mouth open, and inside, are three water drop shaped balloon-like things, surrounded by veins. The three things beat together, and I suddenly know the answer to my question.

"Its hearts are inside its mouth!" I scream. "What? But that's impossible!" Kurt shouts. "In this time, Kurt, nothing is impossible! We have to hit the hearts," I say to him. "But how?" he asks loudly. "I should hit the Kraken, but once it wails, the battle crew should shoot inside its mouth with the cannons!" I say. "Maybe we should reverse it!" he shouts. "What? Why?" I shout. "Because you can hit it more accurate than the battle crew. They won't hit it directly, there are times they will miss it. They can't move the cannon freely because the portholes are just enough of its size, but you can with your bow and arrow," he shouts. I agree with him. "Okay!" I nod. "Once the cannons hit the Kraken, and it wails, you should hit the hearts!" he says. "I will!" I shout. He nods and runs, leaving me alone.

The ship wobbles again, tilting from left to right. Some people are still screaming and running around, but others are shooting it with a gun. I prepare my bow and arrow. Then, I target at the mouth, waiting for it to wail. I heard the cannon, firing at the Kraken. The Kraken wails, and when I see the hearts, I released my arrow. My arrow reaches one heart, and the heart explodes with the glowing blue slime. The hearts are fragile! The Kraken wails louder, and smashes its tentacle on the ship. I pull out another arrow, and I shoot it into the heart when the Kraken wailed.

But I missed! I cursed, and I pull another arrow from my quiver. I wait for the cannon, and when it fired, I shoot my arrow inside the mouth, and one heart explodes. Only one more left. And I have one more arrow left. The Kraken wails louder than before, and becomes more violent. It smashes its tentacle harder than before. I pull my last arrow, and I target carefully at the mouth. The Kraken is now covered with its own blood, so parts of its body are bleeding with glowing slime from the cannon and gun shots. Now I have only one arrow, I can't miss now.

The cannon fires and I wait for the Kraken to wail. The Kraken did, and I finally release my last arrow. The last heart exploded!

The Kraken wails its last before finally submerging completely into the water. I look around the ship, and most of it is destroyed. The storm finally stops, and the people are completely drenched. What remains of the Kraken is the tentacle I have cut, still resting on the floor of the ship with the glowing blue slime. I breathe in deeply, and I heard someone calling my name. "Diana!" Tintin shouts.

"Tintin," I mumble. He runs into me and gives me a hug. I hug back. "Where is Captain Haddock?" I ask him. "He's the one taking control of the ship, obviously," he says mischievously. "Oh, right. Silly me," I tell him, smiling. "Good thing you're safe," he says, looking at the ocean. "See? I told you, you won't lose me," I tell him. I could see him blush, but he looks away. "Remember the hourglass. Once the sand stops falling down, that's the time you'll lose me," I tell him.

Someone runs out of the ship's rooms, shouting something. The people gather around the man. Tintin and I managed to get to the man, whose face is pale and shivering with fear. "Calm down," Tintin says to the man. He grips the man's shoulders, shaking him. The man stammers as he shouts, so we couldn't understand what's he's saying. "CALM DOWN!" I shout at him.

It came out louder than I expected, and I was a little embarrassed. The man calms down, and he closes his mouth. "What is it?" Tintin asks him.

"The professors! I was asked to check on them, but when I came into the research room, the professors are unconscious! There was a big hole on the right side of the room!" he explains. "The professors are unconscious? We must call for help!" Tintin says. Some people run inside the ship's rooms, who must have been the medical team. "Are the professors okay?" Tintin asks the man. "They are! But there are worse things!" he says. "What is it?" Tintin asks him.

The man shivers, and says, "Two professors are missing!"


	8. Chapter 8: Faint Sounds

**Point Of View: Diana**

"What?" Tintin asks the man, whom he shakes. The man continues to explain the situation, but he's still stammering. The people around us begin to talk with each other, and the other people are running inside and out of the ship's rooms. I feel something nudging my leg, and as I look down, I see Snowy pushing his snout against my leg. I pat his head, and he barks at me as he points towards the port. I look at him quizzically. He barks at me one more time, and runs toward the port. "Hey, Snowy! Where are you going?" I call him, but Snowy continues to run. I sigh and follow him.

Snowy runs more, and he stops by the broken metal handles of the ship. Just a few meters away from where he Snowy is standing, is the tentacle I split from the Kraken a while ago. I stop too, and he barks at something hanging on one of the sharp ends of the broken metal handle. "What is it, boy?" I ask him. He barks, and plucks the item hanging on and places it in front of me. I kneel, and pick up the item. It was a ripped white cloth. It was obviously ripped out from a white coat. I stare at the ripped white cloth, which was stained with blood. Snowy barks at me again, and he points to another broken metal handle. There was black shoe hanging off of it, and Snowy once gain plucks it off and places it in front of me. Something tells me this is connected to the disappearance of the two professors…

Someone calls for me. I see Tintin looking around the port. He sees us, and he runs toward us. "What are you doing?" he asks me. He sees the ripped cloth and shoe is my hands. "What are those?" he asks me. "I don't know. Snowy just led me here," I tell him. "Look," I say to him, holding out the ripped cloth and showing him the blood. "Great snakes!" he says. "There's also a shoe hanging on one of the broken metal handles," I say to him, handing the shoe to him. "Do you know whose shoe is that?" I ask him.

"I'm afraid I don't know," he replies. "Tintin, I don't know if it's possible, but… could that be the two professors' properties?" I tell him. "That's not a very nice conclusion, but yes, it could be," he says. "We should hand this over to the captain. Maybe he knows who owns these." I tilt my head. "Which captain?" I ask him. He stares at me. "What?" he asks, and then he widens his eye, realizing what I mean. "Oh, both of them," he replies, smiling even though we just recovered from the disaster.

The three of us walk near the bow, and the crowd is noisy as we walk in. The people stops talking when someone slams a door open. Captain Ahmet appears in the scene, with his left arm bandaged. The man who took the wheel earlier, who must be his assistant, walks after him. Captain Ahmet's eyes widen as he passes through his ship, which is heavily damaged from the Kraken attack. I pity him. He then notices me, and walks toward me. I feel scared for a moment, but I straighten my back to show no fear. I figured out that he might scold me for entering the bridge without proper permission and then shouting at him. He puts his hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Ms. Diana, for not believing you in the first place. I regret not believing you, and now, this is what happened. Some crew disappeared," he says to me pitifully, his eyes are clearly sad. I pat his hand on my shoulder, and he looks at me. "It's not your fault, Captain. It's not my fault, either. It's not everyone's fault. It's not our fault for having this Kraken, so you don't need to apologize," I tell him. He smiles, and pats his shoulder. "Thank you, Ms. Diana. I owe you," he says. He faces the crowd. "Everyone! We should move now! The ship is destroyed, but that won't be a reason to stop this expedition. We will continue, and we should act together and repair the ship!" he announces. The crowd cheers and starts separating to work.

I smile at the scene. "You're being too nice," someone says to me. I look behind me, and I see Tintin smiling at me, with the cloth and shoe still in his hands. "What do you mean?" I ask him. "You're being too nice at Captain Ahmet. You should have just accepted his apology instead of telling him not to. You're being too grateful," he says, smiling. "Tintin, it's not really his fault. And, what are you doing? You're supposed to give that to the captain!" I tell him, laughing softly. "Crumbs! I forgot. Wait for me here," he says, and he and Snowy runs off to follow Captain Ahmet. I remember Captain Haddock, who's currently handing the ship's wheel. I run off to see him, and surely he's there, his hand clutching the wheel.

"Nice work, Captain," I tell him. He looks behind him, and he smiles when he sees me. "So what happened?" he asks me, returning his gaze to the wheel. "The Kraken's finished, but a lot of crew is also finished. You do know what I mean, right, Captain?" I tell him. He looks down at the wheel. "Yes. I pity them. I just hope that there won't be any more disasters. Are you alright, Diana?" he asks me. "Yes, Captain," I tell him. "I just feel tired." And after saying that, my body suddenly feels heavy. "I'll just go back to my cabin, captain," I say. "Go on, Diana," Captain Haddock tells me, and I go out of the bridge. My body feels heavier than that, and as I go down the stairs slowly, I feel dizzy. Someone then calls me, and as I look, I see Tintin at the bottom of the stairs, calling my name. My eyesight blurred, my body feels heavier than ever, and my head started to ache. Tintin frowns when he realizes I don't feel well and my legs stumble as I fall down the stairs, and Tintin panics as I fall. I feel my body bump on the metal stairs, feeling each pain. I finally roll down at the bottom, and I see Tintin shouting for help before finally losing my consciousness.

My eyes open, adjusting to the light in the room. It was blurry at first, but when my sight clears, I can tell that I'm in the ship's infirmary. The room is white and snug. There are two bunk beds, and I am lying on one of them, at the bottom part. Someone comes in the room, and I see Kurt in a green sweater and khaki pants. He smiles, and he places a tray of food on the table beside my bed. "How are you?" he asks me, smiling. I started to sit up and when I do, I feel pain in my back, making me groan. Kurt helps me straighten my back. Then I realize I got bandages on some parts of my body. My left arm is wrapped in bandage, and I feel something soft on my forehead. My torso is a bit tight, and I realized it's wrapped in bandage, too. I'm wearing a light, white dress that feels comfortable. "Are you okay?" Kurt asks me again. "A little," I reply. "How long was I out?" I ask him.

"A week," he replies. "A week?" I exclaim. "Yes. Tintin was awfully worried about you. He got out of the bridge, shouting for help. People immediately responded to his call, and you were brought here. Some of the professors helped the doctors figure out the reasons of your sudden loss of unconsciousness. Didn't you feel your wounds at your back?" Kurt asks me, sitting on the chair beside my bed. "No. I have wounds?" I ask him. "Yes. Small wounds, but it looks painful. They told me that you had shrapnel pierced at your back, caused by the Kraken who smashed its tentacles in the ship. Scratches and wounds are also found, mostly on your arms. Your forehead got pierced by shrapnel, too. Good thing that the shrapnel aren't buried deep within your skin. Here," he explains, and then he shows me a metal tray full of shrapnel. Some cleaned, some still stained with blood. "They said your adrenaline rush caused you to be numb, so you didn't feel your pain right away. You just felt it after the disaster, right?" Kurt asks me. "Yes, but it's such a long time before I felt it," I tell him.

"That's a bit odd, but good thing you're safe. Your bumping on the ship and your fall on the stairs didn't make your condition worse, but the doctors think that it may make you weaker. Anyway, I'm glad you're safe," he says to me. "Thank you, Kurt," I say to him. "Where's Tintin?" I ask him. "Probably helping out in the kitchen or hanging around the ship. He comes here every day, you know. Just to make sure you wake up," he replies. "I'm sure he'll be happy to learn you finally woke up."

I smile. I look at the food, and it looks appetizing. I stare at it for a long time, feeling hungry. "Maybe you should eat," Kurt says to me. I feel embarrassed. Maybe he must have seen me drooling over the food, so I let him place the food tray on my lap. I spoon my food into my mouth, and I munch it desirably. I feel uncomfortable because someone is eyeing me while eating, so I eat my food slowly. After finishing the plate of food, he hands me a glass of water. I chug it down, and I give back the glass to him. Someone opens the door, and it was Tintin. "Diana!" he says happily. He runs toward me, and he gives me a hug. I groan, and he releases me as he realizes that I'm hurt from my wounds. "Sorry," Tintin apologizes. "How are you?" he asks me. "I'm fine, Tintin. How about you? Aren't you hurt?" I ask him. "No, I'm not. I'm fine, even though I received some bruises from bumping in the ship," he says, and he raises his arm and pulls down his sleeve. There are some bruises on his arm, but I can see they're healing.

He turns to Kurt. "Thank you, Kurt, for taking care of Diana," he says to him. "No problem," Kurt replies, smiling. "Can I go out for a while? I want some fresh air," I ask them. "You can, Diana. But you must be careful," Tintin says. "I will be okay," I tell him. Kurt excuses himself, saying that he needs to get something done, so he walks out of the infirmary. Tintin helps me stand up, and he walks me around the ship as I breathe in fresh air. "By the way, where's Captain Haddock?" I ask him. "Oh, he said that he went to the ship's library," Tintin says. My eyes lit up. "There's a library in this ship?" I ask him. He stares at me confusedly, and he remembers something. "Oh. I forgot that you like reading books. Do you want me to accompany you there?" Tintin asks me. "Yes. Please do," I tell him, and he helps me walk into the library.

The library is a bit cramped because there are lots of shelves, but it's okay to walk around inside. I want some time alone. "Tintin, can you leave me here for a while? I want some time alone," I ask him. Tintin looks concerned and he asks, "Are you sure you'll be fine on your own? I mean, with your wounds not fully-healed yet and—"

"I'm going to be fine, I promise," I tell him, smiling. Tintin looks at me, like he was hesitating to leave me alone. "Be careful, Diana. The books might fall on you. Don't leave here without me, I'll be back in an hour," Tintin tells me, and he leaves the room. I walk around the library, looking at book titles and stuff, when I heard a loud thud. "Blistering barnacles," someone says. I look around, and I see Captain Haddock picking up a book that was lying on the floor. Obviously, he dropped it. There are also piles of books on the table. "Do you need help, Captain?" I ask him. He looks around, and he sees me. "Oh, Diana! You're okay, now?" he asks me. "A little. I want to read some books when Tintin told me that there was a library here, so I let him lead me here. What are those, Captain?" I ask him. He looks at the book in his hand. "Oh, this? It's a book about Greek Mythology. Just reading some," he says. He stands up and sits in front of the table, and started reading.

"Greek Mythology? You like Greek Mythology, Captain?" I ask the Captain, sitting in front of the table, too. "Eh, not much," he says, flipping some pages. "May I ask, Diana, do you know what creatures that sings? The ones who bring sailors in danger?" I stare at Captain Haddock. He seems to be a little weird today, asking about that. "Uhm, I think you're talking about Sirens, Captain," I answer him. "Thanks," he says, and continues to flip the book pages. "I've been searching them all this time. Ah, here. Sirens."

"'Sirens are dangerous creatures that have features of a bird from the waist down and a beautiful woman from the waist up. Sirens are said to sing enchanting songs that lure sailors to their deaths. The song is so enchanting that the sailors forget their sense of direction and follow the direction of the song instead, which would end up in having their ships wrecked by accidentally crashing it into rocks that surround the Sirens' island. Some said they have musical instruments that help them produce these enchanting sounds.' So, they're indeed dangerous," Captain Haddock reads in the book. "Do you believe in Sirens, Diana?" he asks me.

"I don't think so, Captain. From what I knew, Sirens are just mythological creatures. Others say they are just elements used in stories or poems. Why do you ask about that?" I ask him. "Nothing. I thought… it's nothing," Captain Haddock says. It seems that he's hiding something or hesitating to say something. "Go on, Diana. Just read, don't mind me," Captain Haddock says, and he gestures at me to read. I pick a book from the pile on the table and started reading. I read something about centaurs, when I hear some ringing in my ear. I scratch my ear, and continue to read. The ringing in my ear continues, louder and louder. I scratch my ears more, and the ringing disappears. I continue reading. Just then, I heard a faint sound of a beautiful voice, singing. Maybe it's just my hallucination. I scratch my ears more, and the faint singing disappears.

But the singing appears again, ringing in my ears, distracting me. I scratch my ears harder. The singing is louder, but I can say that only a few can hear it. I didn't mind it. Someone must have turned on some music, so I continue reading the book. I read the words, but my eyelids get heavy and I feel sleepy. My forehead was about to drop on the book when I found my consciousness again. I shake my head, and I still hear the singing. Captain Haddock seems to be sleepy, too, and he shakes his head. He puts his hands on his temples and he closes his eyes tightly. "Captain, c-can you hear it?" I ask him. He opens his eyes and looks at me. "You can hear it, too, Diana?" he asks me. "A faint singing, yes. What do you hear, Captain?" I ask. "A faint singing, too. Ah, blistering barnacles. It makes me sleepy. I've been hearing it for the last two days, and it won't stop," Captain Haddocks tells me.

Then, I realize it. Captain Haddock asks me about Sirens. And he researched about it. Does it mean—?

"Captain," I started to say. "Is it possible—"

"I think so, Diana. First the Kraken, and then—"

I widen my eyes. "Sirens."


	9. Chapter 9: New Friend

**Point Of View: Tintin**

I hope Diana's doing fine.

A week ago, I saw her fall from the metal stairs, which was obviously painful. Added the wounds on her back, which she didn't feel during her fight with the Kraken.

I got bruises from bumping into the ship, but Diana got the worst condition. Some of the crew members got bad bruises, scratches, and other wounds, but no one got shrapnel on their backs or on their skin. I think Diana got some sprains, too. But if you look from the other side, Diana is the luckiest on board to be alive. Some crew members died, either from the smashing or fell out of the ship or got electrocuted and sucked by the Kraken. But hopefully, we still got some more crew left. And I'm determined to keep it that way.

The only problem we have are the two missing professors. No one knows where they are, but we assumed that they're already dead. It scared me a little because Captain Haddock said to me that the first two expeditions also lost their two professors on the Kraken. Which also happened to this expedition. I wonder if someone would arrange another expedition of we fail.

But… no. We can't fail. The crew members who gave their life for this expedition won't mean a thing.

I walk around the ship with Snowy, and I see Kurt looking at me. He waves at me, and I walk closer at him. This guy probably needs a chat after the disaster. He's recovered from his wounds now. We lean against the metal handles of the ship, which was repaired a week ago. The damaged parts of the ship were repaired by the crew. They actually did a good job, since you can barely see the damages the Kraken done. Kurt was one of the repairers. "How are you, Kurt?" I ask him. "I'm doing fine. My wounds are already healed. How about you, Tintin?" he asks me. "I'm doing fine, too. I'm just worried about Diana," I tell him. "Don't worry," he says, smiling. "She would be okay. You took care of her very well."

"I just wonder what the other injured crew members are doing now," I say. "Well, they're okay now. They just need some rest. The professors are doing some research now, with your Professor. What's his name again? Is it Professor Albert?" he asks. "Cuthbert. Cuthbert Calculus," I correct him. He smiles and scratches the back of his head. "Ah, yes. I remember. They got some sample of the Kraken's blood from the tentacle Diana cut," he says to me. "That Kraken's blood looks very weird. It glows, right?" I ask him. "Yes, and it's blue," Kurt says to me, making a disgusted face.

I laugh softly. "Kurt, how's Gina doing?" I ask him, my happiness melting. He looks at me. "She's doing fine. She didn't get any wounds from the attack, but she got some scratches," Kurt replies. "That's good," I tell him. Kurt looks at me seriously. "Did you have any relationship with my sister?" he asks me. That caught me off guard. I don't really want to talk about that side of my life. But it's his sister, so I think I should let him know. "To be honest, uhm, well, yes," I tell him. He just smiles, and he looks at the ocean. "Is she serious about it?" he asks me. "Very," I tell him. "She also holds close to me. But it's over already," I tell him.

"Why?" he asks me. I look at him, and I'm thinking of telling him about it or not. I keep silent for a moment, and I finally decide to tell him about it, but he smiles and looks away. "If you don't want to tell it, please keep it. I don't want to break your privacy," he says. I look at him, and I smile. I don't really want to say it to him. "She's my sister. Even though she doesn't really give me any attention, I still care for her. So I just wanted to know if she's alright with her relationships with other people. But it's fine if you don't tell me, I can see you're a good man," he says.

I was surprised at what he said, because he sounded so mature. His eyes really show it. Then, he pats my back. "Well, Tintin. I should be going now. I'll just check something," he says, and he leaves me alone. I look at the ocean, thinking if I should tell Kurt what he wants to hear. Then, I heard a loud _clang_, and when I look behind me, I see a blonde woman on her knees, groaning, with a metal tray beside her. Medicines and other medical equipment roll on the floor, and I can tell that she tripped. I run to her side, helping her place the bottles and other things back on the metal tray. Snowy follows me and he also helps my pushing some of the bottles with his snout close to me. "Sorry. I can handle this, Tintin," she says. I was surprised. "You know my name?" I ask her.

Then, her eyes widen and she cups her hands over her mouth. "Oh, I'm so sorry, sir. I'm not supposed to address you like that," she says. "No, it's fine. You can call me by my name. But how did you know it"? I ask her, and we both stand up. "I'm the one who helped your friend Diana prepare for the ball. She was really kind," she says. When I look at her directly, I can tell she was beautiful. She has long, wavy hair and a pair of dark brown eyes. I found myself staring at her for a long time.

"Thank you for helping me," she says to me. "Oh, it was no problem," I tell her. She smiles at me. "Oh, by the way, I'm Charlotte Willems. Nice to meet you, Tintin," she says as she shakes my hand. "Nice to meet you, too," I tell her. "I need to be going now. I need to replace Diana's bandages," she says as he walks away. "Wait, Charlotte. She's not in the infirmary right now. But she'll be back soon," I tell her. "Is that so? Well, I'll just put these on the infirmary and I'll be back later. If she comes back, wouldn't you mind calling me? I'm just in the ship's kitchen," she says to me. "Alright. Wait, kitchen? Aren't you a doctor or a nurse?" I ask her. She smiles. "I'm both. I'm assigned to take care of Diana," she says. "That's great," I tell her. "I need to be going now," she says. She walks away.

"Charlotte?" I call her. She looks back. "Yes?" she asks me calmly. "Would you mind joining me in dinner later? With Diana and the others, I mean." I ask her. "I wouldn't mind. It's okay," she says. "Thank you for inviting me. I guess you can tell me the details later when I come back, Tintin," she adds. "I will," I tell her. "Thank you for inviting me," she says, as she leaves. I stare at her as she leaves, and I feel my heart racing.

I put my hand to my chest, and I'm wondering what this feeling is.


	10. Chapter 10: Revelation

**Point Of View: Tintin**

Snowy and I go back to the library to check on Diana. I think she needs to go back to the Infirmary so Charlotte can change her bandages.

I open the door to the Library. I look around, and I see Diana with Captain Haddock. On the table are heaps of books that are piled on each other. I wonder what kind of books they're reading—probably of the same category. "Diana?" I call her.

Diana and Captain Haddock both look at me. They are both holding books, but from what I've seen, they look like they're talking to each other, so I must have distracted their conversation. "Oh. You're back," Diana says innocently. "I just met someone named Charlotte. She claims that she was the one who helped you prepare for the ball," I tell her. Her eyes widen. "Charlotte? So you've met her," Diana says, smiling. "Yes, and she says that she will be replacing your bandages. Maybe I could bring you to the Infirmary so she can replace them immediately," I tell her.

"That's fine for me. The bandage around my waist is tight, so I want to get them replaced. I'll go there," Diana says as she stands up and closes her book. She puts it on top of one pile of books, and she begins to walk away from the table. "I'll accompany you there," I offer Diana, but she just shakes her head. "I can go there myself, Tintin. Just help Captain Haddock put the books back," she says and points towards Captain Haddock and the books. Captain Haddock stands there, with the piles of books on top of the table. "Well," Diana says, smiling at me. "I need to go now. Make sure you return the books in their proper places. Help the Captain sort them out. Good luck!" she waves her hand at me and leaves the library.

And so, I started picking up some books and sorting them out, while Snowy sniffs around. Captain Haddock does it, too. I slip one book in between other books, and I noticed the title. "So you like Greek Mythology, Captain?" I started to say. "Eh, not really," he replies from the other side of the shelf. "But why are there so many books about Greek Mythology here?" I ask him. Captain Haddock keeps silent for a moment, and then he answers. "I'm just researching about something."

That's weird. Research something in Greek Mythology. I can tell he's not saying something, and he just talked with Diana. The last time he talked with Diana, it's about a monster, and Diana believed him immediately. I'm curious now, and he researched something in Greek Mythology, then he talked with Diana. And there are lots of mythological monsters and creatures in Greek Mythology. Maybe Captain and Diana are hiding something again from me?

"What are you researching about, Captain?" I ask him again, placing the last book on the shelf. I see him emerge from the other side of the shelf, with no books on his hands. "Can you accompany me to the Research room, Tintin? Professor Calculus invited me there, and I thought of letting you come with me," Captain Haddock says, dropping the subject. I thought he'll answer me, but he dropped the subject. "Okay, Captain," I say instead.

As we walk out of the library, Snowy and I follow Captain Haddock to the Research Room. The door is made of steel, with a big wheel on the centre as the lock. Captain Haddock winds up the wheel, and the door clunks open and wisps of white smoke emerge from the room. I wave away the white smoke, and then Captain Haddock gestures at me to come inside. We both walk in, and I was pretty amazed on what's inside. The room is huge, and there are tables all over. Two tables are occupied with vials of different shape and sizes; some have different colored liquid on them. There are wisps of white smoke surrounding the two tables, caused by the boiling of some liquids. There are other laboratory equipment as well, and some navigation tools like maps and globes. I bet they're not just researching here, maybe estimating the time of arrival as well, and other factors happening around the ocean.

On one table, was something lying that shocked me. There's the tentacle, cut by Diana from the sea monster, the Kraken. There's still the glowing blue slime oozing out of the cut part, but there's a big container by the tentacle that catch the dropping slime. They might be researching something about the Kraken, so they collected the only sample. Snowy growls at it, but I pat his head to calm him down. Professor Calculus and another professor walk up on us. "Oh, there you are. I've been waiting for you to come. I see you brought Tintin along with you, Captain," Professor Calculus greets us. "Yes. He might be interested in the thing you're going to let me know," Captain Haddock replies. I wait for Professor Calculus to say something out of subject, and repeat what he had said. He's hard of hearing on one ear.

"Ah, yes, I'm sure he'll be interested," Professor Calculus says, nodding his head. I was caught off guard, because he usually answers different and repeats what he had said. I curiously look around Professor Calculus' ear, looking for some device or something. Professor Calculus must have seen the look on my face, so he started to speak up. "Ah, Tintin. I have this hearing device you said," Professor Calculus says, pointing at his ear. And he positions himself in a position wherein we can see the hearing aid. And sure enough, there was. "Professor Philip here gave me this so I can work better. Using my ear trumpet requires my other hand, so I will not be able to research and experiment here with using only one hand, so he gave me this," Professor Calculus pointed at the man beside him. The man smiles.

"By the way, this is Professor Philip de Smet, I believe you've seen him at the ball. Professor Philip, this is Tintin and Captain Haddock, my companions on this ship," Professor Calculus introduces us. "Nice to meet you," Professor Philip says, shaking our hands. "I've heard a lot about your discoveries and adventures, Mr. Tintin. I'm quite amazed by them," he says. "Oh, thank you, Professor," I say. "And you're also Tintin's companion in his adventures, right, Captain Haddock?" he asks happily. "Eh, yes," Captain Haddock replies. "Well, I'm quite honored to have you here on board. I'm happy you accepted our invitation," Professor Philip says. "And we're also honored to be here," I say. Professor Philip smiles.

"Well, let's get to business. We invited you here in the Research Room to let you know something," Professor Philip says. "We are sad to know that my missing two fellow professors—Professor John and Professor Carl—are considered—well, how will I say it—gone," Professor Philip sadly explains. Captain Haddock and I are shocked. "The blood on the strip of cloth that you found, Tintin, was positive that it was Professor Carl's blood. The shoe was Professor John's property. He was wearing it too the same night the Kraken attacked—and we didn't find the other pair. We also searched around the two Professors' rooms, and we didn't find the dress the matched the fabric of the strip of cloth. The two items you found was located by the broken metal handles, right, Tintin?" he asks me. "Indeed, Professor Philip," I reply. He gives us a sad nod. "They might have been victimized by the Kraken. Only the Kraken was strong enough to break the handles," Professor Philip continues to explain. "This is what I'm afraid of. This happened on the last two expeditions, too, right?"Captain Haddock asks. "Well, yes. It's like destined to happen, but I can't say that. But yes, two professors from each expedition are also lost from that part of the ocean, where the sea monster lies," Professor Philip says. "But that's not the only reason we called you here."

"What is it, Professor?" I ask. "Come with us," Professor Philip gestures at us to follow them. They lead us to the table where the tentacle lies. "We've been researching about the properties of the Kraken's tentacle for days, but we mostly focused on the blood. That's the glowing slime," Professor Calculus explains, pointing at it. "The blood is very interesting. The Kraken, it's like the electric eel. It is capable of producing lethal discharges, but it can produce higher voltages. The Kraken can adjust its voltage," Professor Calculus explains as he shows us the blood in a transparent pouch. "That's amazing, but dangerous," I say. "Yes, it is. I was amazed too, when we found about that. But let's leave it. The blood is also bioluminescent, so that's why it glows. But there's something more interesting," Professor Calculus explains.

"What is it?" Captain Haddock asks, more interested in the topic now. "The blood contains different chemicals and other stuff, which makes it poisonous and deadly. Once the blood enters the body, either by open wounds or through eating, the poison will slowly, very slowly, destroy your body until you die. You can't see the effects of it by just looking from the outside, but when it entered the body via wounds, the skin around the wound would turn blood red. It can be used against enemies, too, but it wouldn't be very helpful if you want your enemy to be gone instantly. We can't use it on humans, even if we are enemies, but we can use it on different creatures. I think we can actually use it on the Kraken. But if we encounter more sea monsters, which are very unrealistic, we could use this. But, it will be slow. At least it could help us," Professor Philip explains. "So, Professor Calculus invented this injector gun here so the poison will seep in the monsters' body once the bullet is shot at them. We're not really sure if this could help us, but we'll try," he continues.

"That wouldn't hurt humans, right?" I ask suspiciously. "Yes, only if the holder of the gun wouldn't use it against his fellow humans. So this gun is only to be used by trusted people on board. Like you," Professor Philip says seriously. "We need the gun to be kept safe and stored away from people." I feel honored to be trusted, but still, we have to get the gun out of suspicious people. "Thank you for trusting me, I promise I won't use it against my companion," I say. Professor Philip nods, and he hands me and Captain Haddock one for each of us. "That's all what we have to say. But please keep the gun secret from other people, but let them know that the Kraken's blood is deadly. I trust you both—and other people," Professor Philip says.

Captain Haddock and I both nod. We thank Professor Philip and Professor Calculus as we leave the room. The door clunks shut, leaving both of us silent. "So the Kraken's blood is that deadly. We have to tell Diana and the others about it," I say. "We should. Thank you, Tintin, for accompanying me here," Captain Haddock says. "No problem, Captain. Come on, let's go after Diana at the Infirmary. We should tell it to her now. She might need our assistance, too," I tell Captain Haddock. Snowy barks happily as Captain Haddock nods and we both head for the Infirmary.


	11. Chapter 11: Queen

_**Note: Readers, I've changed the way of writing this story. I've taken up suggestions, and I'm glad that someone appreciates my story. It will be easier for you to read and understand this. I'm open for more suggestions, and I will be happy to take them up. Thank you for correcting my errors, and I hope you'll be more comfortable reading this. Thanks for reading my story.**_

_**Happy reading! **_

**Point Of View: Diana**

I'm going to see Charlotte again.

Days passed by since I last saw her, and now I'm going to see her again. She's so friendly and kind the first time we met, and even have some respect for me. I wonder what she's doing after the Kraken's assault. I head for the Infirmary as fast as I can. When I open the door, I see Charlotte placing a tray of some equipment and medicines. She smiles as she sees me.

"Hello, Diana. It's nice to see you again. Please take a seat; I'm going to change your bandages," she greets me as I walk in the room.

"It's nice to see you, too, Charlotte," I greet back. I did what I was told, and she unwraps slowly the bandage on my left arm. I see my almost fading wounds and scratches. I didn't notice them first because I was wearing a long sleeved dress, and I'm not even aware that the shrapnel got through the fabric.

Charlotte puts some medicine on a cotton ball, and she gently dabs it on my wounds and scratches. She throws away my old bandage and wraps a new one on my left arm.

"Can you take off your dress for a while? I'm going to change the bandage around your torso. You can turn around," Charlotte requests.

I turn my back on her, and I take off the top of my dress. She passes me a part of the unwrapped bandage so I can unwrap the front part of my torso. I hold my arms over my chest as she rolls the bandage.

"So, Tintin told me you've met him," I say, breaking the silence.

"Yes, I indeed met him a while ago. He's a nice man," Charlotte says. "You're friends?" she asks.

"Yes, we are. I've been friends with him since I was five, so I guess you can call me his childhood friend," I tell her.

"Wow. Your friendship is very long," Charlotte says in amazement, as she finally unwraps my bandage completely.

"I think so, but it's also long since I last saw him. My family left Belgium when I was twelve, and the only remembrance I have of him those years is the necklace he gave me," I tell her, clasping the pendant of my necklace.

"So your necklace is really valuable for you. Good thing it didn't fall off your neck when you're fighting the Kraken. You're amazing, Diana. You're so brave fighting that Kraken," Charlotte says to me.

I smile and I say, "It's nothing, I'm just doing my—"

But I suddenly remember that I'm not supposed to talk about my job. It's a secret.

"Doing what, Diana?" Charlotte asks me innocently as I feel her dabbing the medicine on my wounds.

"Nothing," I reply. I just hope she doesn't get curious.

"Okay," Charlotte calmly says. "So you're a skilled archer, huh?" she asks me.

"I think you can say that. I've practiced for years, and I can do well with daggers, too. I'm can run fast, too, I think," I tell her.

"That's really amazing, Diana," Charlotte compliments me as she wraps a new bandage around my waist.

"Oh, thank you so much. I never really get praised that well," I tell her.

"No problem. You deserve to be praised," she says.

"By the way, what happened to the tentacle on the ship?" I ask Charlotte.

"Oh, they've taken it to the Research Room. They are surely researching it for something, maybe its cause of being electric. Some people here on the ship wants to see it, and the results as well, but normal people and crew are prohibited to go inside the Research Room, unless you get to be invited inside for some important matters. The professors spent days already inside the room, so I guess they got some good results from making research about the tentacle," Charlotte explains to me.

"Oh. And what became of the two missing professors?" I ask her.

"Sad to say, they are already gone. The other professors say must have been attacked by the Kraken, and we are sad to learn about it. The items you have found are proof of it. People already gave up looking for them; thought that the two professors are hiding in the ship," Charlotte explains.

"So it happened to us, too," I say sadly.

"Huh? What happened to us, too?" Charlotte asks innocently.

"Well, from the first two expeditions, two professors also died on that part of the ocean, also caused by a sea monster. And I'm convinced that that sea monster is the same Kraken that attacked us," I explain to Charlotte.

"That's quite disturbing for me," Charlotte says sadly as she finally wraps the bandage around me completely.

"How's Captain Ahmet doing?" I ask Charlotte facing her.

"Well," she says as she arranges the items on her tray. "He's doing fine, now. Your Captain Haddock took over the ship's wheel for three days when Captain Ahmet was recovering from his injury. But Captain Ahmet is back for his duty."

"That's good to hear," I tell her. Then I heard the very soft singing again in my ear. I cover my ear for a while, waiting for the singing to be gone. After a few seconds, the singing fades. I remove my hands from my ears.

"What is it, Diana?" Charlotte asks me.

"Hm?" I look up, and I see her staring at me. She must've noticed that I covered my ears, and I assume she cannot hear the singing too. "It's nothing." I'm wondering about what Captain Haddock and I discovered. Should I tell Charlotte about the Sirens we assume to be real? But what will she say if she learned about it? Will she say I'm crazy?

But I have to keep it to myself first. So far, the only people I know to hear the singing is Captain Haddock and I. What would Tintin say if I tell it to him? Would he believe us? Maybe. But we don't have enough proof to tell that the Sirens are real. But the possibilities are strong. We already seen the Kraken, so there's a huge possibility that the Sirens do exist. And we have to be cautious now. Lives will be at risk if the Sirens are indeed true.

Charlotte looks concerned. "Are you sure it's nothing?" she asks, removing the bandage on my forehead.

"Yes, don't worry about me," I say to her.

"Well, dress yourself again. It's cold in here," she says as she smiles. I did dress, and when I do, the door opens. Tintin, Captain Haddock, and Snowy come inside the room. As Tintin closes the door, Snowy runs up to me and stands on my lap. He gives me a sloppy wet kiss, and I pat his head.

"How are you doing, Diana?" Tintin asks me.

"I'm fine now. The bandage is not tight anymore. Are the books arranged and sorted already?" I ask him.

Tintin laughs. "Oh, come on, don't be ridiculous. It's not the time to ask me that," he says.

"Yes," I laugh too. "But really, are they arranged?" I ask him sarcastically.

Tintin smiles. "Yes, they are. And we have to tell you something," he says. "

What is it?" I ask him.

"We've been just informed that the blood of the Kraken is dangerous. Once it enters the body, it will destroy you very slowly. It does not show effects, so you have to be aware of yourselves. If you happen to see the blood of the Kraken, inform the professors immediately. They're just in the Research Room," Tintin informs us.

"But we are not allowed to go to the Research Room except if we are invited," Charlotte says.

"You can just tell us, okay?" Tintin says.

"Alright," Charlotte nods. "So you're allowed to go there?" she asks.

"Yes, we are," Captain Haddock replies.

Charlotte stands up. "I have to get going now. I still have things to do. And by the way, Diana, those are your last bandages. After two days, I will have them removed already. Now you can move freely if we have them removed."

"That's good to hear!" I exclaim, stretching my back. "After two days, I will finally have freedom of movement! It's really hard to move with these bandages you know."

Snowy barks at me happily, and I smile as I rub his head.

Charlotte smiles. "I have to get moving now," she says.

"Thank you, Charlotte," I tell her.

She was opening the door when Tintin takes her hand. "Wait, Charlotte, uhm…" Tintin started to say.

I was a bit surprised when he held Charlotte's hand. I feel embarrassed, but Captain Haddock calmly stands beside me with his arms crossed. I feel awkward being in the scene, but I can feel there's something more I can feel. Still not quite sure what it is, though…

"Charlotte, could we talk for a moment?" Tintin asks her.

Charlotte innocently stares at him. "Oh, yes, I remember," she says.

I don't know what she's talking about, but I bet they talked about something the first time they met.

"Please excuse us for a moment," Tintin looks at us, and he and Charlotte goes out of the room, still with their hands holding each other. The door slams shut, leaving Captain Haddock and I silent in the room.

Captain Haddock gives me a look of pity. At that time, I think I know what he means, and I feel more embarrassed.

"What?" I ask him.

He looks away. "There's no need to hide, Diana," he tells me, crossing his arms again.

I look away. "What do you mean, Captain?" I ask him, looking at my bandaged arm.

Captain Haddock sighs, and puts down his arms. "You know what I mean, Diana. Why don't you just tell Tintin?"

_I'm still confused, captain, _I wanted to tell him that. But I can't make myself say it. I'm too embarrassed to tell him that.

"Still hearing it, captain?" I ask him, dropping the subject. "You know what I'm talking about."

"Yes, I heard at a while ago. You did, too, Diana?" he asks me.

"Yes, captain," I reply, patting Snowy's body. "But for some reason, other people can't hear it. Why are we the only ones who can hear it? I know the singing is soft and very hard to hear, but why do we hear it? Why only us?"

"I can't say," Captain Haddock says. Then, I heard the singing again, and it was a bit painful for my ear. My eyelids started to get heavy again, but then I hear Snowy whimper on my lap.

I look at him. He's lying down on my lap now, and he scratches his paws over his snout. He's getting cranky now. Now I understand what Snowy's doing.

"Snowy, you can hear it too," I tell him. The singing stops. Snowy looks at me and gives me a bark, giving me confirmation.

"He can?" Captain Haddock says, looking amazed. He looks at Snowy. "Then he can hear the singing. You know, Diana, I'm starting to think that we have strong sense of hearing."

"You think so, Captain?"

"Dogs have strong sense of hearing. Snowy can hear the singing, and we can hear the singing, too."

Captain Haddock got a point. We just knew that Snowy can hear the singing, too, so we might have strong sense of hearing too.

"Do you think we should tell Tintin and the others about it?" I ask the captain.

"Not yet, Diana. I'm thinking of the right timing to tell it. I'm still not sure of it, but I'm thinking of telling it first to dear old Cuthbert. He can help us," Captain Haddock tells me.

"Do you think they will believe it, Captain?" I ask him.

"Maybe. There's already the Kraken, so I think they will believe about the Sirens," Captain Haddock tells me.

I look away. I hope the others will believe us if we tell them about the Sirens. I was thinking seriously when my tummy makes a rumble, killing the silence.

"Uhm…" I say, embarrassed again.

Captain Haddock laughs softly. "You're hungry, aren't you?" he asks me.

"I just ate a while ago, captain," I tell him.

"Well, you haven't had food for days, right? You're asleep for a week, and you had just one meal. Come on, I'll accompany you to the canteen," Captain Haddock says, giving me a hand.

I smile as I take his hand, and he leads Snowy and I to the canteen.

_That night…_

I hope they serve good dishes tonight.

When I ate at the canteen this morning, they just gave me lots of sandwiches, and they're not really appetizing. I asked Captain Haddock if he can persuade the servers to give me the food I really wanted, but they just said no. Snowy was also hungry at that time, so I have to share my sandwiches with him. But, I'm not really satisfied with food like that.

I put on a simple purple dress. One of my mother's hand sewn dresses. I'm a little surprised that it still fits. I braid my hair down and I proceed to the room wherein I will eat with my companions. I open the door, and the room is nice. No one was there but me, so I guess I'm the first one to reach the place. There was a long table placed in the middle of the room. Seven people can eat together in the table. There are three chairs on each side, and one chair at the end of the table. There are candles on the table, so I can tell that the dinner will be fancy.

I sit on the right side of the table, the last chair. I sit there, waiting for the others. I look at the lit candles when I notice that my eyeglasses are smudged, so I pull out the case out of my pocket and opened it. I pick up the cloth inside and wipe my eyeglasses. The door opens, and everyone comes in. "Ah, just in time," I say, putting my eyeglasses back on. "I've been waiting."

Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus, Thompson and Thomson, Snowy, and Tintin come in. But one person surprised me most: Charlotte. She's here.

"Good evening, Charlotte. You surprised me," I greet her. "So, you're going to eat with us?"

"Ah, yes," Tintin answers for her. "I invited her to eat with us. I thought we could thank her for helping you out, right?"

"Of course," I say. "That's going to be no problem. I'd like to know more about Charlotte, too. So, what are you standing there for? Come sit down."

Thompson and Thomson sit on the left side of the table, as well as Charlotte. Captain Haddock sits beside me and Professor Calculus on his side. Tintin sits on the front chair, near Charlotte and Professor Calculus. People come in, carrying plates of food. As they place the dishes on the table, my mouth water. The dishes look so appetizing—caramel pears, braised pork loin, roast of lamb, steamed lobster, filet mignon steak, cheese soufflé, risotto—and more. My eyes lit up in the presence of my favorite dishes: desserts. I want to eat right away, but I forgot that I need to pray. I did pray, and my companions and I started digging in.

"So," Thompson says, forking a meat. "Are you okay now, Diana?"

I slice some steak. "Yes, I'm completely fine now, thanks to Charlotte," I say, and then Charlotte smiles at me. "How about you? I haven't heard a thing about you two since the assault."

"Ah, we're fine, yes," Thompson says. "Except for Thomson here. He says that he's been hearing a soft singing in his ear the last two days. But I swear that I don't hear anything."

Thomson chews on his lobster. "Well, I certainly hear a soft singing, and it's bugging me! Ah, makes me sleepy," he says.

Captain Haddock looks at me. He nods, and I apparently knew that he wants me to talk with Thomson or him later. I add Thomson to my "hearing" list. I already know three people and a dog hearing the singing: Captain Haddock, Snowy, Thomson and I.

"That must be your imagination. You knocked your head on the low door of our cabin," Thompson assumes.

"Certainly not. Then, I shouldn't be hearing it now. I knocked my head three days ago," Thomson defends.

"Well, maybe you're just hearing things, Thomson," Tintin says. "Don't worry, it'll go away in a few days. Anyway, so, we'd like to hear something about you, Charlotte." Tintin smiles at her.

"Uh, well. Hm, what should I say?" Charlotte says uneasily.

Charlotte says things about herself, and the others are listening to her. I don't really hear what she's saying, because I'm way too busy eating the chocolate cake I have. At the first bite, I realize that this is what I needed to become full. I eat what I can, while the others eat and listen to Charlotte's stories. Tintin asks her about a lot of things, and I can see that he really is interested in Charlotte. I observe him, and he is looks so happy with Charlotte beside him. I smile at the scene. I've never seen him look so happy. Sure, he's happy being with his other friends and I, but he's happier than that. So I guess that means something, huh?

I look at my plate, having these thoughts. But someone calls me.

"Diana?" Tintin looks at me, with a little smile on his face.

"Huh?" I look at him, and I notice that Charlotte stopped talking and the others are looking at me as well, with little smiles on their faces. "What?"

Tintin smiles at me and points his finger to his cheeks and chin. And from that moment, I know what he meant.

I fumble for a napkin on the table and I wipe my face with it. I look at the napkin in my hands, and it's stained with chocolate frosting and syrup. My friends manage a little laugh over it, but I'm not angry.

"Go on, go on," I wave my hand at them.

Charlotte smiles at me and keeps going to talk about herself. A few minutes later, Thompson and Thomson excuses themselves, saying that they have something to do. Professor Calculus also excused himself as well, saying that he's needed at the Research Room. Tintin is the only one left talking to Charlotte. Captain Haddock pulls me aside and whispers at me.

"Diana, you heard about Thomson, right?" he asks me.

"Of course, Captain. He can hear the singing!" I tell him.

Captain Haddock squeezes my arm tighter. "Yes, and I think I need to tell it to the professors."

"When, captain?" I ask him.

"I still don't know, but not now," he replies.

"But why not now? The Sirens might be around somewhere anytime," I insist.

"No, but I think it's not time yet. Don't tell it yet, Diana, without letting me know," Captain Haddock tells me.

"But…will they believe us?" I ask him.

"They will believe us. We have enough proof already," he insists.

"Proof? Captain, we don't have—"

"If there's a Kraken, there are Sirens, too, no doubt about it," the captain says. "Anyway, Diana, I will excuse myself, too," Captain Haddock pats my shoulder. "I will be back here in a few minutes."

Captain Haddock stands up, and he leaves the room. Tintin and Charlotte keeps on talking with each other. They look so happy together. And perfect together…

I feel like I shouldn't be here. I stand up, wiping my hands.

"Well, I guess I have to excuse myself too," I tell them.

Tintin blushes. "What? But—"

I brush my skirt. "I have something to do," I lie. Actually, it looks like they need some time alone together, so I'm doing this for them. "Well, I have to get going now." I left the room, leaving them alone together.

"Now… What should I do?" I wonder.

I walk up the metal handles, the sea breeze blowing in my face. I look up at the moon. It was full tonight. I always liked the moon and the sea breeze. It makes me feel calm. I close my eyes for a moment, when something nudges my legs.

I look down, and it was Snowy.

"Snowy. Why are you here?" I ask him.

Snowy whimpers at me. I kneel down, and pat his head. "Can't handle the romance there, eh?" I say to him. I continue patting his head. I sit with Snowy, my legs sticking out of the side of the ship. Snowy sits beside me.

"Thank you for being here, Snowy. You make me happy," I tell him.

I rub his fur. Snowy barks at me.

"Oh, what is it now, Snowy?" I ask him. Snowy barks at me more, and then he whimpers as he put his head on my lap.

"You feel lonely, don't you?" I ask him sadly.

Snowy whimpers. I bet it's a yes.

"So I noticed. Tintin doesn't give you much attention now, which wasn't like him. What on earth happened to him?" I wonder.

Snowy whimpers once more. He sadly places his head again on my lap.

I smile at him, despite his sadness. "Do you want me to sing for you? It can make you happy for a moment," I offer him.

Snowy's ears perk up. He looks at me with soulful eyes. Once again, I think that meant yes.

I smile at him. "Okay. I just hope I have a good voice," I say. I clear my throat, and started to sing.

My singing echoes around the ship. Snowy closes his eyes. I sing more, and I feel more relieved. I rub Snowy's head while I sing. I sing for a few minutes, but I notice that Snowy's already asleep, so I ended my singing. I take a deep breath after that.

"That's nice," someone says.

I look behind me, and I sigh.

"Kurt," I mumble. "You always creep people out, don't you?" I say louder.

He smiles. He walks toward me and he sits. He sticks out his legs, too.

"Why are you here?" I ask him, still rubbing Snowy's head.

"Nothing. I just like being outside. Calms my mind," he answers.

"Don't you have any friends here?" I ask him. "I mean, I always see you alone in the ship. There are a lot of people in here, yet you don't have any friends."

Kurt looks at the ocean water. "Nobody wants to be friends with me," he replies.

"Huh? But why? You're a pretty nice guy," I say to him.

He smiles. "Thank you for that. But, nobody really wants me as a friend. Or as that _Queen's _friend."

"_Queen's _friend?" I ask.

"The reason that nobody wants to be friends with me is…my sister."

"Your sister? You have a sister here?" I ask him.

He looks at me. "Oh yeah. You still don't know. Well, I think I should tell you. My sister is Gina. You probably know her through Tintin."

"Uh, yes. I heard that from him. They had a relationship right?" I ask him.

"Yes," he says.

"But, why _Queen_?" I ask him.

"Gina trespassed at this ship. So, she isn't actually an official passenger here. Captain Ahmet doesn't know her," he explains. "Well, every passenger here has something to do, like cook the food or assist in the ship. The professors research, something like that. But since Gina is not an official passenger, she does nothing in this ship. She just hangs out every day, doing nothing but causing trouble for everyone. She bothers every person during their work, telling them nonsense stories until the person gets distracted and don't get things done right. People get angry at her, but despite that, she still bothers people. She even gives orders at them. And with that, she is called _Queen. _They knew that Gina's my sister, so they assumed that I was like her, so they wouldn't want to be friends with me. Why does it have to be that way? Why are people so judgmental?" Kurt slams his fists on the ground.

I feel sad for him. I can't believe that he doesn't have any friends. But, he's so kind and helpful. He's respectful.

"I hate it when it comes out like this! But despite all that, I don't know why I still care for her! Why?" Kurt cries out in despair. He looks at his palm, and tears begin running down his cheeks. "Why?" he asks one more time.

"Because no matter what, she's still your family," I answer him.

"F-family?" he asks.

"Yes. Even if they get cranky, annoying, and stupid at some times, we still care about them. It's because they're our family. We grew up with them, we made good memories with them, so that's why we still care about them. Don't despair, Kurt. You still have someone loving you. Even if Gina is like that—arrogant and selfish at some times—I know that she cares about you, too," I tell him.

Kurt keeps silent for a moment. He then wipes his tears, and did something that surprised me.

He hugs me tightly. I can feel the warmth, and the sadness he has. I can't help but feel sad for him.

"Thank you, Diana. For making me understand," he says. "You're the first person to make me happy. Thank you. I owe you a lot."

I was caught off guard of what he did. But I feel happy too, because there are sad feelings inside of me, and he somehow drift them away.

"Diana," he says. "I'd like to tell you something. I—"

But what he's going to say was interrupted but the singing in my ears. Again. But this time, it's a bit painful. I groan a little, and that's what interrupted him.

"What is it, Diana?" he asks me, letting go of me.

"Kurt," I say. "When I woke up this morning, I went to the library and I saw Captain Haddock. He told me he's been hearing a soft singing in the past two days, and I've been hearing it too sometimes just this morning. Snowy hears it too, as well as Thomson. Captain Haddock and I assumed that the singing are by the Sirens. They're dangerous, Kurt. Captain Haddock told me to stay put, not to tell it to the professors first. But I can't hold it anymore! I have to tell it to them. NOW."

"Sirens? Wait, Diana—" Kurt says, but I was already running away.

I run to the dinner room, and slam open the door. "Captain! Captain?" I shout.

"Diana? What's the shouting for? No, Captain Haddock's not here yet," Tintin says calmly.

Where is he? Where's Captain Haddock? Ah, never mind. I'll just tell it to the professors. I'm sure he'll understand.

"Ugh!" I groan so loud. I run away, with confusion on Tintin's face.

I run to the Research Room. The singing is back again, and there was pain in my ears. They're calm the first time, but why isn't it calm now?

I finally reach the room, and I knock at the door.

"Professor? Professor! Professor Calculus! Please, open this! I have to tell you something!" I shouted.

I got crankier. I bang at the door, but finally it opens. The singing is gone already, but as Professor Calculus open the door, he pushes his right hand at his ear.

"Oh, Diana. It's you. Yes, what is it?" he asks.

"Professor! Thank goodness. I have to tell you—"

But the singing is back in my ears, causing more pain. I hold my hands over my ears.

"Ugh!" I groan loud, closing my eyes. As I open it, Professor Calculus looks at me surprisingly.

"Diana," he asks. "You can hear it too?"

And with that, I figure out that Professor Calculus will believe us right away.


End file.
